Missoula, MT

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2017

Project Category: Roadway/sidewalks/crosswalk improvement

Description: Missoula County officials hoped to demonstrate options for improved pedestrian access to East Missoula's downtown. Staff and volunteers put out straw bales, planters and trees to calm traffic, as well as create a temporary bike and walking path near a popular store and service station. They also set up a pop-up park. They also set up an area with picnic tables, canopies and umbrellas. Food trucks and a banner helped attract visitors to the event, along with sidewalk games, face painting and mural making. Attendees could see how possible future safety improvements would work and were invited to provide feedback. Project organizers report the demonstration helped secure buy-in from nearby business owners, who had previously expressed skepticism about changes to the streetscape. Since the event, the County has working to permanently implement the interventions envisioned during the event, including forming long-term plans to reconstruct a major highway corridor.

Tuba City, AZ

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2022

Project Category: Roadway/sidewalks/crosswalk improvement

Description: The Nanees'Dizi Chapter government serves nearly 10,000 members of the Navajo Nation. Recently, the Chapter redid its headquarters to offer an incubation space for local vendors, artists and businesses, including adding an outdoor market. Change Labs hoped to help residents access this space, so they installed new steps and a handrail. Ahead of the work, Change Labs met with older adults in the community to understand their needs. Organizers say the project sparked a community conversation about needed infrastructure upgrades. It also strengthened relationships between local business owners and government leaders.

Louisville, KY

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2018

Project Category: Roadway/sidewalks/crosswalk improvement

Description: At a width of 150 feet, Louisville's Ninth Street had the feel of a thoroughfare. To improve the street's safety and aesthetics, Louisville Metro Government upgraded sidewalks, painted bars to make crosswalks more visible to drivers and changed signals to give pedestrians more crossing time. To give people a space to rest, they added benches to an underused green space in the median, the site of an existing sculpture. Doing so created a public space for residents declared that a place to sit and rest in the area was one of their preferred amenities. Organizes say the project has sparked conversations about how to continue improving the pedestrian experience on Ninth Street. Louisville is now exploring adding bike lanes, as well as bump-outs to make crossing distances smaller. "We want to redesign this corridor with people in mind and not just cars, Gretchen Millikin," director of advanced planning, said.