Cincinnati, OH

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2020

Project Category: Roadway/sidewalks/crosswalk improvement

Description: Hoping to reduce traffic accidents at a busy intersection, the City of Cincinnati created a crosswalk mural in the Clifton Heights neighborhood. Community groups helped choose the mural's design and volunteers worked to paint it on the pavement. The crossing -- which is located near shops, restaurants, a high school and the University of Cincinnati's campus -- attracts heavy pedestrian traffic. In addition to beatifying the streetscape, project organizers hope the mural will make pedestrians more visible. The colorful, abstract artwork is meant to catch drivers' attention, causing them to slow down as they approach. In the future, organizers plan to install crosswalk murals at other popular intersections nearby.

Newport, KY

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2019

Project Category: Public or private transit access

Description: West Newport's bus stops lacked basic amenities for the many residents who relied on them daily. To address this, ReNewport purchased and installed benches at 11 stops and added a trash can to a stop where littering was common. To ensure community input informed bus stop improvements, ReNewport and a neighborhood association also founded a bus stop committee. Members met several times, reviewed bus stop data provided by the Transport Authority of Northern Kentucky and visited bus stops to assess their condition. Organizers with ReNewport say the committee's work will inform future bus stop upgrades in the area.