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Vermont River Conservancy (2021) Print
2021 AARP Community Challenge Grantee
Project Category
Transportation
└ Trails
└ Trails
Organizers with the Vermont River Conservancy wanted to allow people of all ages and abilities to enjoy the newly created North Branch Cascades Trail. To make the one-mile route accessible, they worked with a professional trail builder to make the path ADA-compliant. Additionally, VRC added amenities including benches, picnic tables and a privy. To help visitors navigate, they created trail maps and added wayfinding signs marking scenic overlooks and swimming holes along the trail. The improved trail has a gentle grade, which allows people who use wheelchairs to roll all the way to the river's edge. This is something many trails can't offer since river access often involves a scramble down a steep bank. Organizers say the North Branch Cascades Trail has since inspired conversations about how to increase accessibility at other hiking routes in the region.
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See More Projects Like This One
Bangor, ME
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2022
Project Category: Trails
Description: Residents identified safety and accessibility issues along the Kenduskeag Stream Trail, where overgrown vegetation and poor signage made walking difficult for older adults. The project installed benches, improved parking lot lighting and added a solar-powered pedestrian crosswalk system to enhance visibility and safety. These upgrades encouraged more trail use and social interaction. "Having benches makes the trail more active, which also added to her feeling more safe taking a walk alone," said one resident. The city now plans additional improvements, including interpretive signage and grading work.
Project description was created using generative AI and then reviewed for accuracy.
Goshen, CT
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2023
Project Category: Trails
Description: This project will install benches and informational signage along a new accessible loop trail that provides an experience in nature for people of all ages and abilities.
Boligee, AL
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2022
Project Category: Trails
Description: The rural town of Boligee lacked parks, walking trails and sidewalks. Recently, the Town purchased the former junior high school property and repurposed it into a recreation complex, which hosts classes and community events. To give residents an outdoor gathering space, this project created a new trail and garden onsite. Volunteers cleared a path for the trail and installed brick pavers. They also added raised flowerbeds and benches to give visitors a place to rest and socialize. Additionally, organizers installed a roof over an unused concrete slab, transforming it into a pavilion. The Town now invites older adults to tend to the flowerbeds. Organizers say they hope the trail and garden foster improved community health.
Nearby AARP Community Challenge Projects
Montpelier, VT
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2024
Project Category: Accessibility of amenities
Description: Montpelier's farmers market lacked shaded rest areas, leaving older adults vulnerable to heat and limiting their time at the market. To address this, the market added two rest tents with cushioned chairs, benches and water stations, plus rolling carts to help shoppers carry groceries. Volunteers maintain the spaces weekly, and the improvements have drawn praise from vendors and visitors, who say they can now stay longer and enjoy music and community events. The changes have made the market more accessible and social, with plans to expand seating and shade as demand grows.
Project description was created using generative AI and then reviewed for accuracy.
Montpelier, VT
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2017
Project Category: Public space activation
Description: To provide a place for cyclists and walkers to rest and socialize, this project developed a pocket park along an existing bike path. Guertin Pocket Park features a pergola -- a wooden structure with a roof -- to provide shelter from the sun or rain. Project organizers also incorporated seating and bike racks, as well as a rainwater collection system that feeds a small decorative garden. In 2021, the city decided to move the pocket park to a new location in the heart of downtown.
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