La Marque, TX

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2024

Project Category: Bike Audits

Description: Older cyclists faced safety risks on local paths due to missing sidewalks and bike lanes. To address this, the city conducted bike audits that identified hazards and prioritized improvements. Volunteers age 50-plus contributed over 60 hours gathering input from residents and recommending changes such as bike lanes, sidewalks and better signage. The audits informed plans for new infrastructure on critical streets and raised awareness of pedestrian safety, strengthening the case for policy and funding support to advance long-term improvements.

Houston, TX

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2020

Project Category: Roadway/sidewalks/crosswalk improvement

Description: Many residents of Houston's Gulfton neighborhood do not own cars, making walking, cycling and public transit use common in the area -- one of the most diverse in the city. But street infrastructure didn't exist to protect cyclists from street traffic. To demonstrate the value of streetscape improvements, the City set up a pop-up bike lane on Westward Street near a local elementary school. First, the City developed a pop-up toolkit, consisting of chalk, paint, stencils and traffic cones. They then used these to create bike lanes on both sides of the street, with plans to conduct more low-cost, temporary pop-ups in the future. During the Westward Street demonstration, the City conducted a survey of residents. Following the success of the temporary bike lanes, the City broke ground on a permanent street redesign project nearby. Planners expect permanent protected bike lanes to be installed along the stretch where the demonstration took place.