Title
Recommendation to Award an 18 Month Contract, with the Option of Two One-Year Extensions, in an Amount Not to Exceed $330,000, Including Optional Tasks, to Toole Design Group to Prepare an Active Transportation Plan for the City of Alameda. (Planning, Building & Transportation 4226287)
Body
To: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The City of Alameda’s (City) Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plans, which are nine and ten years old, respectively, are in need of comprehensive updates to reflect current best practices in bicycle and pedestrian planning and design, current community needs and desires; and current regional and state grant funding requirements. With this in mind, in April 2019, staff issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) to update and combine the Pedestrian and Bicycle Plans into a single Active Transportation Plan (ATP). The City received four proposals. The selection panel interviewed the top three qualified firms and selected Toole Design Group as the firm that best meets the City’s needs. The negotiated contract, totaling $330,000, is attached for Council’s consideration to award (Exhibit 1).
In response to recent City Council direction to expedite bicycle and pedestrian safety improvements and take immediate actions to support the City’s greenhouse gas reduction goals established by the City Council’s recently adopted Climate Emergency Resolution and the draft Climate Action and Resiliency Plan, the ATP contract is designed to simultaneously execute the necessary big-picture, long-term planning for walking and bicycling in the City, and the accelerated development of impactful implementation tools that will quickly improve the safety and comfort of walking and bicycling in the City, and which can be adopted by the City Council during the ATP planning process.
BACKGROUND
The City’s Bicycle Master Plan was first adopted in 1999 and then updated in 2010. The City’s Pedestrian Plan was adopted in 2009. These Plans have served the City well over the years, as evidenced by the many completed projects and programs and the major complete street capital projects now underway. Since the Pedestrian and Bicycle Plans were completed, the City has adopted several related policies and plans including the Complete Streets Policy (2013), the updated General Plan Safety and Noise Element that calls for implementation of a Vision Zero policy (2017), the Transportation Choices Plan (2018), and the Climate Emergency Resolution (2019). In September, the Draft Climate Action and Resiliency Plan will be considered for adoption by the City Council.
Over the past ten years, pedestrian and bicycle best planning and implementation practices have evolved. Protected bikeways are becoming a standard. Vision Zero policies and implementation tools are improving methods and plans for network safety. Equity is now an essential goal of all new plans. Finally, grant and pass-through funding requirements, including for Measures B and BB, require that local Bicycle and Pedestrian Plans be regularly updated in order to be eligible to receive bicycle and pedestrian grant funds.
In recognition of the need for an update, the City Council approved a $300,000 allocation for these updates in the 2017-19 Citywide budget. However, given the many capital projects underway and other recent project priorities, such as the Cross Alameda Trail, dockless bike share program, Tilden Way railroad land acquisition, and others, staff was not able to release the RFP for the ATP until this spring. Therefore, the 2019-21 Citywide budget also included the funds to update the Bicycle and Pedestrian Plans.
DISCUSSION
At its March 27, 2019 meeting, the Transportation Commission reviewed and provided valuable input on a draft ATP Scope of Work. In April, staff released the RFP for the Active Transportation Plan update. The City received proposals from four consultant teams. A selection panel made up of representatives from the Planning, Building and Transportation Department, Public Works Department, the Transportation Commission, and Bike East Bay evaluated the proposals and interviewed the top three consultant teams. The panel selected Toole Design Group, LLC (Toole Design) the highest scoring team. Toole Design is a national leader in bicycle and pedestrian planning and engineering, is well-versed in current best practices, and has led the development of key national design standards.
The recommended scope of work combines the Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plans into one Active Transportation Plan to reduce redundancies in gathering data, and more efficiently analyze safety and evaluate the many multi-use trails in Alameda. This approach also allows the updating of both plans to move forward simultaneously rather than sequentially. For small to medium-sized cities, having one plan, instead of two, is fairly common.
Work on the ATP will begin immediately after the contract award, with a draft Plan for public review expected to be developed within one year, by August 2020. The final draft Plan is scheduled for final City Council consideration in December 2020. In addition, during the planning period, the consultant/staff team will develop high priority policies, standard updates, and new ordinances to bring to the Transportation Commission and City Council for adoption to accelerate the implementation of walking and bicycling improvements. The recent July 2, 2019 Alameda Municipal Code amendment on the City Council agenda regarding “daylighting” is an example of a high-priority pedestrian safety improvement that did not wait for completion of an ATP update.
The recommended scope of work also includes development of a Vision Zero Action Plan, to be initiated at the same time as the work on the ATP, and adopted prior to adoption of the ATP, as Task 11. Vision Zero is a citywide commitment to eliminate fatal and severe traffic collisions on public streets. The City adopted a Vision Zero policy goal in 2017, with the General Plan Safety and Noise Element.
In summary, the major goals and outcomes for the Active Transportation Plan are to:
• Develop an inspiring, ambitious, accessible and graphic-rich Plan that provides a roadmap to achieve the vision for a safe, walkable and bikeable Alameda;
• Accelerate the implementation of bicycling and walking improvements, via new policies and projects, while the Plan is under development;
• Develop a Vision Zero policy and implementation plan;
• Update the citywide bicycle network to create a comprehensive and connected low-stress network that serves people of all ages and abilities;
• Identify locations and/or corridors with the highest existing or potential safety issues;
• Update the Bay Trail Network, reflecting current Bay Trail Project goals;
• Review existing policies, procedures and standards related to walking and biking, and update them, with a focus on prioritizing safety and convenience;
• Create an implementation plan with priority project and program recommendations that are aligned with City budgeting timeframes;
• Develop creative options for improving bicycling and walking in the City’s most challenging areas; and
• Update the Design Guidelines/Standards to reflect latest best practices.
In developing the ATP, staff and the consultants will focus on:
• Infusing the Plan with the latest best practices;
• Prioritizing safety and vision zero implementation;
• Using data to inform recommendations;
• Reflecting the urgency of addressing climate change; and
• Building on the goals and recommendations of other recent City Plans, in addition to the current Pedestrian and Bicycle Plans.
Staff and the consultants will use the following approach to engage the community and stakeholders, and understand community desires:
• Conduct public outreach by going where people are with pop-up events and bicycle and walking tours, and providing online interactive tools, in addition to stand-alone meetings;
• Plan for the entire walking and bicycling community in the City, including low-income populations, people of all ethnicities and races, people with disabilities and non-English speakers;
• Survey the community to get statistically-significant, equitable input, rather than just hearing from those who are most vocal and have the most time to engage;
• Use a Technical Advisory Committee, made up of key City departments, outside agencies and other key stakeholders; and
• Bring updates and draft recommendations to the Transportation Commission, as the lead Commission, plus other relevant Commissions, at key milestones for input and direction.
Staff recommends awarding a contract to Toole Design Group in the amount of $330,000. The contract also permits an annual extension of the contract on a year-to-year basis, for up to two additional years at the sole discretion of the City Manager, based upon satisfactory performance of all aspects of the contract.
ALTERNATIVES
The City Council could direct staff to modify the contract budget or scope of work to either expand or reduce the level of work and resources. Another option is that the City Council could opt to not award this contract, and instead direct staff to continue implementing the existing Bicycle and Pedestrian Plans.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
The City’s approved Fiscal Year 2019-21 Transportation Planning Division Budget includes $330,000 to be used towards the consultant contract for the development of the Active Transportation Plan. Funding for this contract comes from a mix of Measures B/BB Bicycle and Pedestrian Funds, plus Measures B/BB Local Streets and Roads Funds. Additionally in May 2019, the City Council approved the use of the City’s TDA Article 3 local discretionary grant funds for the ATP development, a portion of which will be used for the consultant contract.
MUNICIPAL CODE/POLICY DOCUMENT CROSS REFERENCE
The Transportation Choices Plan (2018) includes two high priority projects that directly call for updating the Bicycle and Pedestrian Plans: Project 2: “Bicycle Master Plan and Design Guidelines Update and Vision Zero Safety Policy/Plan” and Project 9: “Pedestrian Master Plan and Design Guidelines Update and Vision Zero Safety Policy/Plan.”
Having Pedestrian and Bicycle Plans is called for in the Transportation Element of the City's General Plan, as referenced in the following policies:
4.3.2.d Develop and implement a Pedestrian Master Plan with regard to physical system improvements, as well as programs and policies relating to encouragement, education and enforcement.
4.3.3.a Maintain and implement the Bicycle Master Plan with regard to physical system improvements (especially the identified priority projects), as well as programs and policies relating to encouragement, education and enforcement.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
Approval of the contract for development of planning documents is statutorily exempt from further review under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15061(b)(3), the general rule that CEQA applies only to projects which have the potential for causing a significant effect on the environment. Any future physical changes to the environment or roadway network that requires discretionary action by the City Council or Transportation Commission will be subject to future environmental review.
CLIMATE IMPACTS
Transportation is the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in Alameda. Developing an updated and comprehensive ATP that reflects the policies and direction in the Climate Emergency Resolution (Resolution No. 15510) and the draft Climate Action and Resiliency Plan (CARP), will expedite implementation of the transportation goals in the CARP, and ultimately increase the number of people walking and bicycling, and decrease the number of people driving alone.
RECOMMENDATION
Award a contract in the amount not to exceed $330,000, including optional tasks, to Toole Design Group to prepare an Active Transportation Plan for Alameda.
CITY MANAGER RECOMMENDATION
The City Manager recommends award of a contract in the amount not to exceed $330,000 to Toole Design Group to prepare an Active Transportation Plan for Alameda.
Respectfully submitted,
Andrew Thomas, Acting Planning, Building and Transportation Director
By,
Rochelle Wheeler, Senior Transportation Coordinator
Financial Impact section reviewed,
Elena Adair, Finance Director
Exhibit:
1. Agreement
cc: Eric Levitt, City Manager