Jerrod KingeryPhoenix is planning to increase shade across the city over the next five years.
In November, the Phoenix City Council approved the $60 million “Shade Phoenix” plan that will accelerate the creation and enhance the maintenance of shade throughout the city.
With an average of 300 sunny days per year, Phoenix is one of the sunniest cities in the U.S. Given average summer highs exceeding 100 degrees Fahrenheit, adding shade is a high priority. In the hottest months, shade can make a difference of up to 30 degrees on the thermometer.
The Shade Phoenix plan is an update to and expansion of the City’s 2010 Tree and Shade Master Plan. It was developed by the city’s Office of Heat Response and Mitigation and reflects the collective efforts of 26 City departments and offices. More than 2,000 community members also helped shape the plan through meetings, online surveys and workshops.
The $60 million comes from a combination of federal and city funding and will be used to build 550 new shade structures and plant over 27,000 new trees. That number nearly doubles the number of trees planted annually by the city.
The city says more than 50% of the total investment will be made in low-to moderate-income communities and 85% will be made in low-moderate-and middle-income communities, which tend to have much less tree cover.
One of the plan’s targeted areas is bus stops. Phoenix has over 4,000 public bus stops, with about 75% of them having shelters capable of providing shade and heat relief. The plan calls for adding at least 80 shade structures at bus stops each year, working toward the goal of having shade structures at all stops where feasible within the next 10 years.
A citywide tree inventory will begin this year, but no timeline for construction has been announced.
Photo by Komsan Jitarmat on Unsplash
