LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Heat is on the way for southern Nevada. To prepare and help protect passengers, changes are being made at bus stops and around the valley.
It's part of the Regional Transportation Commission’s heat mapping project, which reveals intense summer sun severely impacts bus stops.
Las Vegas summers can be brutal when it comes to heat. A bus stop at Spring Mountain and Wynn roads is one of many locations without shade, leaving passengers exposed to scorching temperatures.
Parts of North Las Vegas, downtown, the historic westside, and eastern areas of the valley are the hottest during the summer. This is according to an urban heat island mapping campaign conducted by RTC.
The results found that bus passengers need protection from severe heat, so RTC wants to make sure all their bus stops offer shade covers so riders are comfortable — and kept away from unforgiving temperatures.
“They're called slim line shelters, because they have essentially a more narrow profile than a typical bus shelter. we're putting them in where there's currently any kind of shelter, where we don't have the space to put a full shelter,” said Paul Gully, principal planner with RTC.
The slim line shelters should bring at least some relief while people wait for the bus. Gully says $4 million in federal grants are being used to build these shelters. The goal is to install over 100 more in the next year in valley locations with the highest amount of heat.
KTNV's Angelina Dixson went to some of the bus stops identified as being in the area of the hottest valley areas according to the RTC heat map. One rider told Channel 13 she avoids using the bus during the summer because she has to wait in the hot sun.
“The safety and comfort of our riders is a top priority at RTC. We are one of the hottest and fastest warning regions in the country." According to the RTC report, the valley's east side naturally experiences higher temperatures in the summer.
To learn more about the Southern Nevada Urban Heat Mapping Project, click here.
