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Augusta, GA

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2022

Project Category: Bikeability

Description: Augusta Urban Ministries provided free bikes and equipment, along with safety training, to 25 older adults. Additionally, the organization will offer bike inspections and repairs on an ongoing basis. To build interest in cycling, they also hosted a community bike ride along the Augusta Canal Trail.

Santa Fe, NM

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2021

Project Category: Bikeability

Description: To demonstrate the safety benefits of bike-friendly infrastructure, the Santa Fe Metropolitan Planning Organization developed a reusable pop-up toolkit and deployed it in two neighborhoods. The toolkit allows the MPO to create temporary bike lanes in neighborhoods throughout Santa Fe and collect feedback from residents. Materials consist of candlestick delineators to offset cyclists from road traffic, as well as signage to alert drivers to the bike lanes. Based on data gathered during the pop-ups the MPO published a report advocating for more active transportation options for the traditionally car-centric city. Project organizers say they hope ongoing pop-ups help residents envision the value of protected cycling infrastructure, especially in neighborhoods where older adults, lower-income families and people of color live -- all populations that are disproportionately injured or killed when walking or biking.

Lowell, MA

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2024

Project Category: Bikeability

Description: This project will provide older adults with free refurbished bicycles, as well as maintenance, repair, riding skills and safety instruction at a one-day event. Participants will also receive a bike helmet, lock and lights.

Nearby AARP Community Challenge Projects

Hartford, CT

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2021

Project Category: Roadway/sidewalks/crosswalk improvement

Description: To draw more visitors to Colt Park, organizers with the Green and Blue Foundation hoped to make the area around the green space safer for pedestrians. Hartford's professional soccer team, the Hartford Athletic, hosts games at the park's stadium, the green space is otherwise underused. The Foundation joined with local partners and community leaders to host a walk audit to identify safety and aesthetic improvements that would make Colt Park more attractive to visitors. This project improved crosswalks near the park and installed traffic calming device, including speed bumps. Additionally, the Foundation beautified parking barriers, planted flower beds and added ADA-compliant benches.

Hartford, CT

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2017

Project Category: Community Gardens

Description: KNOX rebuilt and upgraded the Hartford's Broad Street Community Garden to allow people of all ages and abilities to easily garden there. They added 22 raised garden beds, making plots more accessible to children, people with disabilities and older residents. Additionally, the organization hired a contractor to repair a garden fence and purchased a picnic table and a pergola -- a structure to create shade for gardeners. Since then, KNOX continues to create gardening opportunities for Hartford residents. The Hartford Courant reported in 2021 that KNOX manages 20 community gardens with a cumulative five acres of space. These include nearly 660 plots, each with an average size of 12 square feet.

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