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Palm Springs approves AECOM contract to design shade and heat mitigation plan funded by Caltrans grant
Summary
Council approved a professional services agreement with AECOM to develop a shade and heat mitigation plan funded largely by a $400,000 Caltrans Safe Streets grant (11% local match). Staff said the scope focuses on short- and long-term treatments along transit routes to encourage multimodal travel in a hotter desert climate.
The Palm Springs City Council approved a professional services agreement Feb. 25 with AECOM to prepare a shade and heat mitigation plan aimed at encouraging walking, biking and transit use in the desert climate.
"We were awarded $400,000 in grant funding with a required 11% local match," said the sustainability staff member who presented the report (identified in the record as "Flynn"). The grant is part of Caltrans Safe Streets and Roads for All program with an emphasis on how shade and cooling features can support multimodal transit.
Flynn told council staff issued a December 2025 request for proposals; five firms responded and one was ruled nonresponsive. The evaluation team selected AECOM based on prior work for Los Angeles County and regional transit partners. The consultant s scope includes short-term and long-term strategies, cost estimates and design concepts for shade structures, expanded tree canopy and adaptive landscaping at transit stops and routes.
Council members pressed staff on equity and outreach: Bernstein asked whether underserved and vulnerable populations were in the grant scope; Flynn said equity analysis is a required component. Bernstein and others also asked about whether the consultant could expand scope to commercial districts or parks; Flynn said some elements could be folded into the planned 2021 pedestrian plan update if additional funding or scope adjustments are pursued.
Staff noted the grant requires work to be completed by June 2027 and said AECOM was chosen partly because of capacity to begin quickly. The council voted to approve the agreement (motion by Council member Bernstein; second by Council member Garner).
