Honorable Mayor and Members of the Hermosa Beach City Council Regular Meeting of August 27, 2019
Title
AWARD OF CONTRACT(S) OF ON-CALL TRAFFIC ENGINEERING
AND TRANSPORTATION PLANNING SERVICES
(Environmental Analyst Leeanne Singleton, Acting Public Works Director
Lucho Rodriguez, and Community Development Director Ken Robertson)
Body
Recommended Action:
Recommendation
Staff recommends that the City Council:
1. Award Professional Services Agreements to a bench of qualified professional consulting firms to provide on-call traffic engineering and transportation planning services to the City of Hermosa Beach;
2. Approve the guidelines recommended for the implementation and assignment of task orders through these contracts with initial contract terms of two (2) years and options to extend contracts for up to three (3) one-year terms; and
3. Authorize the Mayor to execute and the City Clerk to attest the Professional Services Agreement(s) subject to approval by the City Attorney.
Body
Executive Summary:
To fulfill the traffic engineering needs of the City of Hermosa Beach, the City has traditionally relied on the services of contract traffic engineering firms on a part-time, as-needed basis in lieu of hiring fulltime staff to serve as a City Traffic Engineer. The existing agreements with the City’s traffic engineering consulting firms have or are near the expiration of the current terms.
In light of changing mobility trends and preferences, staff felt it was the appropriate time to re-envision the City’s approach to the provision of these services. A team was created including staff from Public Works, Community Development, and the City Manager’s Office to collaborate on the development of a Request for Proposals that met the traffic engineering and transportation planning needs of all three departments and the community.
A Request For Proposals for On-Call Traffic Engineering and Transportation Planning Services was issued in May 2019, and as of the proposal deadline of June 13, 2019 a total of 14 proposals were received for a combination of three tasks:
1. Contract Traffic Engineering Services - Public Works Department;
2. Transportation Planning and Studies - City Manager’s Office; and
3. Plan Check/Development Review - Community Development Department.
Staff reviewed the 14 proposals and invited 10 firms to participate in interviews and staff recommends that the City Council award a series of not-to-exceed contracts to a bench of nine qualified professional consulting firms to provide on-call traffic engineering and transportation planning services to the City over the next two years, with options to extend the contract lengths for up to three additional one-year terms.
Background:
To fulfill the traffic engineering needs of the City of Hermosa Beach, the City has a longstanding practice of hiring contract traffic engineering services with qualified consulting firms to provide these services on a part-time, as-needed basis in lieu of hiring fulltime staff to serve as a City Traffic Engineer. The scope of these services in previous contracts has been focused primarily on responding to and evaluating traffic concerns and requests for traffic control devices from the community and as directed by staff. In recent years, the services of the City’s contract traffic engineering consultants have also been solicited by the Community Development Department and the City Manager’s Office to provide review of: development applications, design of infrastructure projects, evaluate parking designs, and development of new transportation and mobility policies.
The most recent contracts for the provision of on-call traffic engineering services were awarded by City Council in June 2015 to two consulting firms: Hartzog & Crabill and Quantum Consulting, each in the amount of $150,000 and for a period of three years. These contracts were awarded following a request for proposal process in which three proposals were received. In 2018 and 2019, staff and the City Council agreed to amend and extend the contract with Hartzog & Crabill to accommodate higher than usual development activity requiring traffic engineering support; while staff worked to implement a Request for Proposals process to avoid a lapse in the provision of traffic engineering services within the City.
In light of changing mobility trends and preferences, and the recent adoption of PLAN Hermosa which charts a new approach to comprehensively addressing transportation, parking, and mobility issues and opportunities, staff felt it was the appropriate time to re-envision the City’s approach to the provision of these services. A team was created including staff from Public Works, Community Development, and the City Manager’s Office to collaborate on the development of a Request for Proposals that met the traffic engineering and transportation planning needs of all three departments and the community.
Discussion:
RFP 19-04 was issued on May 13, 2019 seeking proposals from qualified individuals or firms to provide on-call mobility planning, transportation engineering design, and/or contract traffic engineering services to support the function and needs of the City’s Public Works Department, Community Development Department, and Office of the City Manager (Attachment 1). To give proposers a sense of the City’s needs, the RFP included key statistics about the local transportation network, information about the City’s transportation goals, and expectations for community engagement related to transportation issues. The RFP was organized into three categories or tasks, each to be primarily managed by different departments of the City and proposers had the option to submit for consideration under one, two, or all three tasks:
1. Contract Traffic Engineering Services - Public Works Department;
2. Transportation Planning and Studies - City Manager’s Office; and
3. Plan Check/Development Review - Community Development Department.
As of the June 13, 2019 proposal, a total of 14 proposals were received by the City. The complete list of firms that submitted proposals and the tasks under which they submitted are provided in Table 1. For those submitting on Task 1, they were also asked to submit a cost proposal based on an estimate of contract traffic engineering services needed at a level of approximately 15 hours per week with at least one day or eight hours per week onsite at City Hall.
Staff from the Public Works Department, Community Development Department, and Office of the City Manager reviewed and evaluated each of the proposals based on the criteria established in the RFP:
• Approach and Methods (35%)
• Relevant Experience & Expertise (40%)
• Timeframe and Costs (15%)
• Administration (10%)
Based on staff’s review of the proposals, 10 of the 14 firms were invited to participate in interviews, that took place over the course of approximately one week in July. The interviews were structured to answer key questions regarding overall approach and experience, and then specific technical approach to each task for which the proposing team submitted on.
All Tasks
• Approach to Workflow/Assignment of Tasks
• Experience Building Community Support/Consensus for Solutions
• Experience with Similar Projects/Services
• Creative Problem-Solving Approach
Task 1
• Approach to Learning About the Community/Conditions
• Process for Evaluating Traffic-Related Concerns/Constraints/Requests
Task 2
• Translation of Technical Transportation Terms
• Strengths and Weaknesses (Policy, Design, Visioning Plan) on Wide Variety of Potential Transportation Tasks
Task 3
• Approach to Multi-Modal Assessments and Changing Transportation Trends
• Evaluation of Fine-Grained Neighborhood Mobility/Parking Impacts
Based on the review of proposals and scoring of interviews, the interview panel recommends that City Council award a series of not-to-exceed contracts to a total of nine firms across the three task disciplines. The proposals submitted by each of the recommended firms are provided in Attachment 2. The recommended firms by task are noted in Table 2 below.
Implementation Guidelines and Proposed Contract Values
• Task 1 - On-Call Traffic Engineering Services - Staff recommends designating a primary and secondary Traffic Engineering team, with the primary team, Interwest, to serve the City’s day-to-day contract traffic engineering needs in the Public Works Department. The secondary traffic engineering teams for Task 1 are recommended to be provided by General Technology Solutions (GTS) and Hartzog & Crabill and only on an as-needed or task order basis. Having three firms on the bench, with one as a primary and the other two as a secondary would ensure the Public Works Department has the capacity to handle fluctuations in work efforts needed to evaluate and respond to resident requests in a timely manner, when it is not uncommon for multiple requests and efforts to be underway at the same time.
o Primary: Interwest-not-to-exceed contract of $250,000 total
o Secondary: GTS and Hartzog and Crabill-not-to-exceed contracts of $50,000 (for Task 1 for GTS and total for Hartzog and Crabill)
• Task 2 - Transportation Planning and Studies - This second category would be used to support the development of a range of transportation related visioning/corridor plans, implementation of PLAN Hermosa mobility policies or programs, and development of transportation/traffic safety related outreach and education initiatives. Projects under this task would be initiated and assigned to a consultant team only when Council has authorized or budgeted a project or study if greater than $30,000 or authorized by the City Manager under $30,000. There are a wide range of potential projects that may be implemented through this task during the contract term and therefore staff has identified a bench of six consultants with varying expertise (parking standards, active transportation, transportation demand management, emerging mobility technology, curbspace management, etc).
It is possible that this qualified bench of consultants may also be utilized for some of the City’s upcoming grant initiatives including the recently awarded grant from Caltrans for the design of Hermosa Beach’s beach entry corridors-35th at Strand connection, Greenwich Village at Hermosa Avenue, and Hermosa Avenue from Herondo Street to 4th street (~$246,000) and the Safer Prospect Demonstration Project from the Southern California Association of Governments (~$178,000) as well as assist the City in the preparation of grant applications when opportunities arise that are consistent with the City’s transportation goals and needs.
o For those recommended under Task 2 only (Alta, Steer, Toole), a recommended not-to-exceed contract value of $150,000 has been identified. Depending on the needs of each project, a single assignment could require the majority of the contract value and staff would return to Council if the project assignment needs exceed the contract values of these project needs.
• Task 3 - Plan Check/ Development Review - This task would primarily assist the Community Development Department in preparing or peer reviewing the necessary transportation, traffic, and parking studies needed as part of discretionary permit applications or environmental analysis needed to comply with CEQA. Work assignments under this task would be based on the needs of each development application and costs would be borne by the applicant, typically on a deposit-basis. Recent discretionary projects have required the use of similar services and vary greatly depending on the project, and have ranged in consultant costs between $1,000 and $35,000.
o For those recommended under Task 2 and 3 (Fehr and Peers, GTS, IBI), a recommended not-to-exceed contract value of $150,000 has been identified. Depending on the needs of each project, a single assignment could require the majority of the contract value and staff would return to Council if the project assignment needs exceed the contract values of these project needs. Iteris is recommended for Task 3 only, and the recommended contract value is an amount not-to-exceed $150,000.
General Plan Consistency:
PLAN Hermosa, the City’s General Plan, was adopted by the City Council in August 2017. The award of contracts to provide on-call traffic engineering and transportation planning services to the City is key to the effective and efficient implementation of the Hermosa Beach community vision for a safe and efficient multi-modal transportation network and supports several goals of the Governance Element, Land Use Element, and Mobility Element.
Governance Element
Goal 1 - A high degree of transparency and integrity in the decision-making process.
• 1.6 Long-term considerations. Prioritize decisions that provide long-term community benefit and discourage decisions that provide short-term community benefit but reduce long-term opportunities.
Goal 2 - The community is active and engaged in decision-making process.
• 2.7 Major planning efforts. Require major planning efforts, policies, or projects to include a public engagement effort.
Goal 8 - A performance-based management and benchmarking program.
• 8.1 Community Indicators. Utilize performance metrics, standards, and data collection procedures to evaluate progress towards goals.
Mobility Element
Goal 2 - A public realm that is safe, comfortable, and convenient for travel via foot, bicycle, public transit, and automobile and creates vibrant, people-oriented public spaces that encourage active living.
• 2.1 Prioritize public right-of-ways. Prioritize improvements of public right-of-ways that provide heightened levels of safe, comfortable and attractive public spaces for all non-motorized travelers while balancing the needs of efficient vehicular circulation.
• 2.2 Encourage traffic calming. Encourage traffic calming policies and techniques to improve the safety and efficient movement of people and vehicles along residential areas and highly trafficked corridors.
Goal 3 - Public right-of-ways supporting a multimodal and people-oriented transportation system that provides diversity and flexibility on how users choose to be mobile.
• 3.3 Active transportation. Require commercial development or redevelopment projects and residential projects with four or more units to accommodate active transportation by providing on-site amenities, necessary connections to adjacent existing and planned pedestrian and bicycle networks, and incorporate people-oriented design practices.
• 3.9 Access for emergency vehicles. Ensure that emergency vehicles have secure and convenient access to the City’s street network.
• 3.10 Require ADA standards. Require that all public right-of-ways be designed per Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) standards by incorporating crosswalks, curb ramps, pedestrian signals, and other components to provide ease of access for disabled persons.
• 3.11 Site specific conditions. Evaluate and incorporate any site specific conditions or restrictions on public property or right-of-ways during the design and engineering phases for pedestrian and bicycle facilities.
Goal 7 - A transportation system that results in zero transportation-related fatalities and which minimizes injuries.
• 7.1 Safe public right-of-ways. Encourage that all public right-of-ways are safe for all users at all times of day where users of all ages and ability feel comfortable participating in both motorized and non-motorized travel.
• 7.2 Manage speeds. Monitor vehicle speeds through traffic controls, speed limits, and design features with the intended purpose of minimizing vehicle accidents, creating a pedestrian and bicycle environment, and discouraging cut-through traffic.
• 7.4 Traffic safety programs. Prioritize traffic safety programs oriented towards safe access to schools and community facilities that focus on walking, biking, and driving in school zones.
Fiscal Impact:
Funds for the provision of on-call traffic engineering services (Task 1) are budgeted in the 2019-20 Budget under the Public Works Department Street Maintenance and Traffic Safety Division at an amount of $100,000. At this time, there are sufficient funds in the 19-20 Budget to cover the expected level of service needed under Task 1 and staff would monitor the level of monthly expenditures and return with a request during the mid-year budget update should additional funds be needed prior to the end of the 2019-20 Fiscal Year. Funds would need to be appropriated for future budget years and staff would include funding requests as part of the overall budget process.
Projects under Task 2 would be initiated and assigned to a consultant team only when Council authorizes or budgets a project or study, if greater than $30,000, or authorized by the City Manager under $30,000. Some potential projects and studies have already been included in the Fiscal Year 2019-20 Budget or Capital Improvement Program and others, which may be grant funded, would require Council action to appropriate the expected funds prior to initiating work on a particular task order.
Projects under Task 3 would be initiated and assigned to a consultant team based on the needs of each development application and costs would be borne by the applicant, typically on a deposit-basis.
Attachments:
1. RFP 19-04 - On-Call Transportation Planning and Traffic Engineering Services
2. Proposals from Recommended Consultant Teams
A. Alta Planning + Design
B. Fehr & Peers
C. General Technology Solutions
D. Hartzog & Crabill
E. IBI Group
F. Interwest Group
G. Iteris
H. Steer
I. Toole Design
Respectfully Submitted by: Leeanne Singleton, AICP, Environmental Analyst
Concur: Lucho Rodriguez, P.E., Acting Public Works Director
Concur: Ken Robertson, AICP, Community Development Director
Noted for Fiscal Impact: Viki Copeland, Finance Director
Legal Review: Mike Jenkins, City Attorney
Approved: Suja Lowenthal, City Manager