Powder Springs awarded 2023 AARP Community Challenge Grant 

Among 3,600 applications from across all 50 states, Washington D.C, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, the City of Powder Springs was selected to receive a 2023 AARP Community Challenge grant. The City of Powder Springs is one of only 310 grantees selected out of the pool of applications for this award.

The City plans to use the grant to implement its Powder Springs Bike Rack Art Project — its latest initiative to promote active and healthy lifestyles within a community that offers alternatives to car-centric living.

Partnering with the South Cobb Arts Alliance, Powder Springs plans to design, create, and install five permanent bike racks throughout downtown Powder Springs. These bike racks will be artistically designed by community members through the partnership with South Cobb Arts Alliance. The five bike racks will be placed in strategic locations around the city where residents frequently travel by bike.

On the grant award, Mayor Al Thurman said, “We are incredibly proud that AARP selected the City for this investment to make Powder Springs more livable for residents of all ages. AARP is a nationwide leader in making communities more livable and we are honored that they see the tangible value this project will bring to our area.”

Powder Springs is a stop along the 61.5-mile Silver Comet Trail, which is a bike path leading from metro Atlanta to the Alabama border, with the trail continuing in Alabama as the 33-mile Chief Ladiga Trail. 

Under Thurmond’s leadership, there has been a major push to create a more sustainable city for the residents of Powder Springs to promote a livable, walkable, and bike-able town center. These efforts include offering residents more community assets and resources in Downtown Powder Springs and the redesigning of the town square to feature green space, play areas, and a community amphitheater where residents can attend events and concerts.

Pursuing projects that make a positive impact on the community and create a safe and welcoming space for its active senior citizens, the city is currently building two connector trails between the Silver Comet Trail and downtown Powder Springs with the help of the Atlanta Regional Commission. Installing the bike rack structures will make parking a bike and exploring the town center more possible and increase accessibility for residents looking for alternatives to the use of vehicles.

About the Community Challenge

The AARP Community Challenge grant program funds innovative, quick-action projects that inspire change in areas such as public places; housing; transportation; diversity, equity, and inclusion; digital connections; community resilience; and more. With additional funding support from Toyota Motor North America, the program is also increasing its investment in projects that improve mobility innovation and transportation options.

This is all part of AARP’s nationwide work on livable communities, which supports the efforts of neighborhoods, towns, cities and counties across the country to become great places for all. AARP believes that communities should provide safe, walkable streets; affordable and accessible housing and transportation options; access to needed services; and opportunities for residents to participate in community life. 

To learn more about the projects being funded by the AARP Community Challenge across the nation, including all 310 granted projects this year, visit aarp.org/CommunityChallenge. You can also view an interactive map of all Community Challenge projects and AARP’s Livable Communities work at aarp.org/livable.