Originally published by SacBee.com on July 18, 2018

The AARP has named West Sacramento one of 129 cities to be awarded grant money in the second-annual AARP Community Challenge for its innovations in transportation.

The competition included more than 1,600 applications from nonprofit organizations and government officials, AARP said. Winners will receive a portion of $1.3 million. The exact dollar amount awarded to each city was not announced.

Applicants had to detail “quick action” projects that would help communities “make immediate improvements and jumpstart long-term progress to support residents of all ages.” Work must be completed by Nov. 5.

Four other California cities were among the winners: Long Beach, Chula Vista, San Diego and San Francisco.

“The city of West Sacramento will develop various forms of education and programming to encourage older adults to use the city’s on-demand car and bicycle transportation system,” AARP’s description of the city’s project said.

“West Sacramento will be using the small award in conjunction with other grants to make it even easier for people of all ages to connect to and use the West Sacramento On-Demand with VIA rideshare service and Jump Bikes,” West Sacramento’s mayor Christopher Cabaldon wrote on Facebook.

“Making mobility universally convenient, customized, personal, reliable, and affordable is one of the top strategies in our AARP-supported Age-Friendly Action Plan, and transit-rideshare and electric-assist bikeshare are two key innovations where West Sacramento is leading the way.”

The Community Challenge is part of AARP’s Livable Communities program, which “supports the efforts of neighborhoods, towns, cities and rural areas to be great places for people of all ages.”

West Sacramento launched its local VIA ride share program this spring and the Jump Bikes project launched in Sacramento, West Sacramento and Davis in May.

West Sacramento was one of last year’s winners, which also included San Diego, Fontana and Santa Cruz. In 2017, the city won grant money to help “improve pedestrian safety by adjusting signal timing and installing pedestrian-controlled crosswalk buttons near a housing development occupied by older adults.”

This story was also published in the print edition of the Sacramento Bee in the local section on page 2B July 21, 2018.