City of Las Vegas 2050 Master Plan addressing heat-related issues
LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) - The city of Las Vegas has a plan in place to plant more trees and provide more shade in the coming years.
During extremely hot temperatures, stepping outside and escaping the valley heat is not an easy task. The city of Las Vegas has a 2050 Master Plan in the works to help mitigate the intense temperatures
“It is the frequency, duration and intensity that has been increasing over the last couple of decades,” said Marco Velotta, Planning Project Manager for the city of Las Vegas. “We have a goal to plant 60,000 trees over the next 30 years.”
Velotta said that the city plans to use specific types of trees that don’t require a lot of water.
“Mojave Desert native and adaptive plants really help bring down temperatures and keep buildings cooler during the day,” said Velotta.
He added that the city has already worked with its urban forester on recent projects in downtown Las Vegas, along Las Vegas Boulevard, and along Washington Avenue, where they have planted new trees.
“That has proven to reduce heat island effects and temperatures within neighborhoods,” said Velotta. If they didn’t plan to plant these additional trees, Las Vegas would get presumably hotter, he noted.
“With less shade and more of these days where we have higher temperatures as a result of the climate and weather patterns,” said Velotta. “If we can’t do that tree planting, we would certainly see the effects of that.”
The city is also looking to improve air quality with the urban heat island effect by looking at locations being impacted the most.
“Things we can do to mitigate it involve air conditioning and looking at ways to improve energy efficiency in buildings and modifying parts of the building code,” said Velotta.
The city is working on a tree program for low-income residents to plant trees on their properties through a grant called “One Tree Planted.” It is also working with SNWA and other local entities within Nevada to plant trees on private properties.
The city of Henderson said it is in the process of recruiting a climate manager that will focus on sustainability, including urban heat.
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