AARP Hearing Center
AARP Community Challenge Demonstration Grants encourage the replication of promising projects. Applications were accepted in the following categories:
- Enhancing pedestrian safety by creating safer streets and sidewalks, with a focus on people age 50-plus, with funding support from Toyota Motor North America.
- Expanding high-speed internet (broadband) access and adoption, with a focus on people age 50-plus, with funding support from Microsoft.
- Implementing housing design competitions that increase community understanding and encourage policies that enable greater choice in housing, with a focus on people age 50-plus, by using the AARP Housing Design Competition Tool Kit.
- Reconnecting communities divided by infrastructure, with a focus on people age 50-plus, as highlighted in the award-winning AARP Livable Communities article series Before the Highway.
The following project descriptions were created using generative AI and were then reviewed by AARP staff. The grantee name appears in italics.
Grants in Support of Pedestrian Safety
Alabama
- Northport: City of Northport — This project will improve pedestrian crossings at Rice Mine Road to complete a shared use pathway with community input. Improvements include flashing beacons and new striping.
Arizona
- Phoenix: Urban Phoenix Project — This project will use GIS technology to map shaded walkways, transit hubs, and key services. This will improve mobility, housing access, and resource navigation for older adults.
California
- Los Angeles: Los Angeles Walks — This project will educate communities about California’s new daylighting law, which prohibits parking within 20 feet of crosswalks. It aims to raise awareness and improve pedestrian safety.
Florida
- Arcadia: Arcadia Main Street Program — This project will install pedestrian-friendly wayfinding signage in downtown Arcadia. The signs will highlight key destinations, historical sites, and cultural landmarks.
- Hialeah: City of Hialeah — This project will improve crosswalks along Palm Avenue with domino-themed designs to enhance pedestrian safety and visibility.
Georgia
- Eastman: City of Eastman — This project will install sidewalks and crosswalks on Pearl Bates Avenue to improve pedestrian safety for students and residents. It includes crosswalk signals, signage, and road paint to guide safe crossings.
Illinois
- Chicago: Edgewater Chamber of Commerce — This project will transform the intersection of Devon and Magnolia with colorful, artistic crosswalks to slow traffic and enhance pedestrian safety.
Indiana
- Evansville: Evansville Parks and Recreation — This project will add three solar-powered lights to the Greenway north of Lamasco Park, enhancing pedestrian safety. This project aims to provide safer evening access for residents, especially older adults.
- Indianapolis: Chatham Arch Neighborhood Association — This project will enhance pedestrian safety at 10th Street intersections with Park Avenue and Broadway in Chatham Arch. Older residents will help paint murals and install flex posts, creating safer crossings.
- Kendallville: Kendallville Mayor's Youth Advisory Council — This project will improve pedestrian safety at three busy intersections in downtown Kendallville by installing 12 artistic crosswalks and "Yield to Pedestrian" signs.
Maryland
- Baltimore: Mount Clare Community Council Inc. — This project will repair and improve sidewalks in Mount Clare, prioritizing areas used by residents age 50 and over. The goal is to enhance mobility by targeting pedestrian corridors, tree wells, and ADA ramps.
Massachusetts
- Worcester: Worcester Common Ground Inc. — This project will enhance safety and walkability along Pleasant Street by installing artistic crosswalks and wayfinding signage.
Michigan
- Dearborn: City of Dearborn —This project will install flashing crosswalk signs at high-risk areas near senior housing to enhance pedestrian safety.
- Marlette: The Heartlands — This project will create a colorful crosswalk and add wayfinding signage to improve walkability and safety. This project will enhance the walking environment for residents and visitors.
Missouri
- Charleston: CHARM — This project will enhance pedestrian safety along Main Street by adding colorful, reflective crosswalks and flashing LED signs.
- St. Louis: EverTrue Hylton Point Apartments — This project will install three speed bumps and host a Neighborhood Pedestrian Safety Event to enhance safety for older adults and neighbors.
New Jersey
- Montville: Township of Montville — This project will install a 700-foot sidewalk along Vreeland Avenue, improving pedestrian safety and access to public transportation and parks.
New York
- Westport: Westport-Wadhams Community Alliance — The Slow with the Flow and Walkable Westport campaigns will enhance pedestrian safety. Public art, greenscaping, and crosswalk painting will slow traffic and improve walkability.
North Carolina
- Charlotte: Pathway Community Foundation partnering with the City of Charlotte — This project will develop an artificial intelligence safety dashboard to identify dangerous streets and guide infrastructure upgrades.
- Clemmons: Village of Clemmons — This project will install Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacon crosswalks on Stadium Drive to enhance safety for older adults. These solar-powered signals will improve pedestrian visibility at key intersections.
- Durham: Bike Durham — The Move-A-Bull City event will close a 1.2-mile corridor in downtown Durham, connecting two greenways. This open streets event will feature activities and demonstrations of safe street designs.
- Greensboro: City of Greensboro Planning Department — A new high-visibility crosswalk with a flashing beacon will be installed at W. Elmsley Drive and Old Treybrook Drive. This project aims to improve pedestrian safety and connectivity for all ages and abilities.
- Leland: Town of Leland — This project will provide for the installation for eight audible pedestrian signals at a key intersection to enhance safety and mobility for pedestrians, especially those age 50-plus and individuals with disabilities.
