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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.
West Hartford, CT
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2020
Project Category: Roadway/sidewalks/crosswalk improvement
Description: The Town of West Hartford enhanced safety for pedestrians at two major intersections by installing warning light systems. Designed to increase drivers' awareness of people in the crosswalk, the solar-powered lights flash once pedestrians hit a button, indicating they are about to cross. The intersections -- one near a senior center and the other near an elementary school -- do not have traffic lights. Ahead of their installation, town staff distributed flyers and held trainings to educate the public about the crosswalks. Project organizers say the upgrades are popular with the community and the Town has received requests for similar crossing signals at other intersections.
Morris Plains, NJ
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2023
Project Category: Roadway/sidewalks/crosswalk improvement
Description: The Borough will install a crosswalk with transitional curbs, crossing signs and detectable warning surfaces to benefit older pedestrians.
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Birmingham, AL
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2023
Project Category: Walkability
Description: The project will increase walkability in Birmingham neighborhoods by using walk audits to evaluate them. The data will be shared with community groups so they can see the challenges that residents aged 50 face, and highlight the need for safer, more accessible streets, sidewalks, paths and trails.
Birmingham, AL
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2020
Project Category: Community Gardens
Description: This project expanded community garden facilities by renovating an existing trailer to provide restrooms, an office and a classroom/meeting space. The upgrades provide indoor space where Bush Hills Connections can host gardening classes. The garden also received new pet waste stations and hand and equipment sanitation stations. The garden -- once an abandoned school property -- is located within a food desert and provides fresh produce to 200 families. Additionally, it is a popular meeting place, particularly with older adults.
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