South Orange, NJ

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2025

Project Category: Bikeability

Description: The Conservancy addressed safety concerns on a street that many older adults use to reach the park and community center. Mead Street also cuts through a natural corridor where turtles cross between water sources, a reminder that poor visibility and fast traffic created risks for people on foot and on bikes alike. The project installed brightly colored, artistic crosswalks featuring turtles, applied durable green paint to bike lanes and added flexible delineators that shorten crossing distances and protect cyclists. Corrider users already report easier, more confident access to park amenities and programming. The demonstration features are now being evaluated for permanent use and are informing broader street safety planning, giving the village a tested model for improving walkability and bike safety in future projects.

Project description was created using generative AI and then reviewed for accuracy.

Maplewood, NJ

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2024

Project Category: Trails

Description: Park visitors, including many older adults, once had to walk on grass or a busy road to reach playgrounds and ballfields, creating safety concerns. The project installed a 560-foot asphalt path to complete the park's interior loop, restored a historic entryway and planted dawn redwoods for future shade. Volunteers added shrubs and perennials during a community planting day, strengthening community pride. The path quickly became a well-used asset, giving older adults safer access and space for exercise. One frequent parkgoer said, "It looks like it's always been there, because it should have been!"

Project description was created using generative AI and then reviewed for accuracy.