RTC Adds 105 Shelters With Solar Lighting to Beat Clark County Heat

The Regional Transportation Commission is installing 105 new bus shelters across Clark County.

The agency announced the project Thursday at the Robert E. Price Recreation Center alongside Nevada's federal delegation. The new structures are scheduled to be finished by 2028, with initial construction beginning soon at stops in downtown and eastern Las Vegas. The shelters will feature dual-direction seating, added sun-blocking panels, and lighting powered by rooftop solar panels.

The project carries a $1.35 million price tag paid through federal grants. U.S. Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto and Jacky Rosen and U.S. Reps. Steven Horsford, Susie Lee, and Dina Titus secured the money. "Extreme heat is a problem that we have to grapple with," Titus said. "That's something that hasn't been recognized as a disaster like tornadoes or hurricanes, and yet it kills more people than those put together."

The planning draws from a 2022 heat study. The RTC was one of 14 locations nationwide selected by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for an urban heat mapping effort. On Aug. 13, 2022, more than 60 volunteers drove through the valley with sensors on their cars. They collected about 138,000 temperature and humidity readings. The data placed the highest heat concentrations in downtown Las Vegas, downtown North Las Vegas, the Historic Westside, and the eastern valley.

Heat also drives mortality figures. ZIP codes 89101, 89030, and 89104 reported the highest concentration of heat-associated deaths in 2023. As of September, Clark County logged 260 heat-related deaths in 2026, compared with 284 in 2025 and 513 in 2024, according to the Southern Nevada Health District. The National Weather Service recorded 77 days at or above 100 degrees in Las Vegas during 2025.

An RTC survey gathered more than 1,300 responses. Of those, 88% said they walk to their nearest stop, and 57% reported feeling extreme heat most while waiting for the bus. Stops along Spring Mountain Road, including the one in front of Spring Mountain Plaza, lack shade and benches.

UNLV freshman Caleb Jackson and his twin brother ride the bus to school and work. Their mother needs the family's only car for her job. Jackson travels from near Blue Diamond Road to UNLV and to dancing folklorico at the Boulevard Mall, with trips taking an hour or more. "Waiting for the bus in the heat, it makes you question if you want to actually take the bus or not, but for me, I have no choice," Jackson said Thursday.

RTC CEO M.J. Maynard-Carey said the shelters will supply more shade and better lighting so riders feel safer at night. Cortez Masto noted the RTC handles 58 million passenger trips each year and said the delegation will keep pursuing federal money for local transit.