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Virgin Island Trail Alliance (2021) Print
2021 AARP Community Challenge Grantee
Project Category
Transportation
└ Trails
└ Trails
Many trails on St. Croix were impassable after hurricane damage. As part of disaster recovery efforts, Virgin Islands Trail Alliance restored eight miles of rainforest trails. To do this, volunteers cut through foliage, cleared weeds, pulled up roots and raked up debris, allowing the trails to reopen. Additionally, they installed new signage, which help visitors navigate, communicate trail rules and identify tree species. The activation effort also involved installing picnic tables and benches along the path to give people a space to rest. To help visitors access the trails, volunteers cleared parking areas and installed bollards to prevent people from driving vehicles onto the trails. Volunteer workers included participants in a nonprofit program carpentry skills program. Since the restoration, project organizers say hikers and cyclists have returned to the trails.
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See More Projects Like This One
Belleville, NJ
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2022
Project Category: Trails
Description: This project installed a new walking trail to connect two streets previously divided by an oddly placed fence. Along the path, the town planted one garden honoring COVID-19 victims and another containing produce the public is welcome to pick.
Salt Lake City, UT
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2017
Project Category: Trails
Description: An abandoned rail corridor in the Poplar Grove neighborhood prevented residents from safely walking or bicycling to Salt Lake City's downtown. A natural creek flowed through the site, but it was encased in an underground pipe. After the train tracks were removed in 2008, City leaders hoped to uncover the creek and add a 1.5-mile walk-bike trail. To build support for the project, they installed markers along the proposed trail and creek routes, adding signs with information about the site's history and benefits of restoring the creek. Local officials and residents were encouraged to walk the corridor and get involved in its restoration. The City also hosted an Oktoberfest celebration, which attracted more than 1,000 attendees who shared their priorities for the site. Topping the list: more green space. The completed trail opened in 2022. Following a city-funded study confirming the feasibility of daylighting the creek, the City and Seven Canyons Trust are now working on design options.
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.
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Christiansted, VI
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2019
Project Category: Trails
Description: The Virgin Islands Trail Alliance and its partners installed the island's first permanent bike path, which extends through Christiansted, an historic town dating back to the 1760s. The Alliance included benches, tables and bike racks along the trail. Work also included applying road stenciling, installing reflectors, markers and lane delineators, planting trees, spreading topsoil and mulch and erecting a historical marker sign. The trail improvements come after a 2017 Walkability Report identified a lack of investment in pedestrian infrastructure in the Virgin Islands. Project organizers say they hope the success of this project highlights the importance of walkability in the Territory. The Alliance is a nonprofit based in St. Croix that aims to create multi-use pathways across the Virgin Islands.
Christiansted, VI
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2025
Project Category: Public space activation
Description: This project will develop plans for an accessible green space at Sunday Market Square. This project aims to foster resilience, food security, and healthy aging by creating a welcoming environment for older adults and families.
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AARP Virgin Islands State Office
4094 Diamond Ruby
Suite 6
Christensted (St. Croix), VI 00820
United States