SUBJECT: ADOPT A RESOLUTION
AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO NEGOTIATE AND EXECUTE AN AGREEMENT WITH
ALTA TRANSPORTATION CONSULTING INC. FOR SCHOOL ACCESS ENHANCEMENT ENGINEERING
SERVICES AS PART OF THE CITY’S TRAFFIC CALMING PROGRAM. THE CONTRACT IS NOT TO EXCEED $250,000, WITH
AN OPTION TO EXERCISE THREE (3) ONE-YEAR OPTIONS TO EXTEND THE AGREEMENT TERM
AT A TOTAL ADDITIONAL COST OF $860,000
Council adopt a resolution:
1.
Authorizing the City Manager to negotiate and execute an agreement
with Alta Transportation Consulting Inc.,
a California corporation, for
school access enhancement services, for the period of June 1, 2001 to May 31,
2002, in an amount not to exceed $250,000.
2. Authorizing the
City Manager to exercise three (3) one-year options to extend the term of the
agreement with Alta Transportation Consulting Inc. with compensation adjusted
each year based on the Consumer Price Index up to a maximum of seven percent
(7%) provided that the total amount does not to exceed $860,000 total for the 3
years combined.
During the 2000-2001 Budget process, Council expressed a strong interest in school area traffic calming and concerns regarding the safety of students during school pick-up and drop-off periods. This concern was primarily related to parental driver behavior and led to a referral for the administration to work with schools to develop "a safe school pick-up program.”
From 1997 through 1999 the City contracted a “Walking Route to School” consultant study, which focused on school walking routes and crosswalk locations. Although school site locations were also examined, that study did not address congestion, circulation and parking issues at schools.
The majority of school related concerns currently received by the Department of Transportation (DOT) are related to issues regarding congestion, circulation, parking and pedestrian conditions directly in front of our schools and in the main parking lots. This will be the focus of the School Access Enhancement Program.
The proposed project would be the cornerstone of comprehensive traffic calming efforts in and around schools. The goal of the project is to identify public right-of-way and school site capital improvements, operations, education and enforcement that will improve safety for children, parents, residents, and school staff during normal school pick-up and drop-off periods. The project will address public and private schools with grades between kindergarten and eighth. It will be a four-year effort, subject to contract renewal and Council appropriations, with 20% of all schools being assessed the first year, 25% of all schools the 2nd and 3rd years, and 30% of all schools the final year (approximately 52 schools annually, depending upon voluntary school participation). School district officials will determine which schools within their districts will participate in the first year program. DOT will obtain a prioritized list from each district for subsequent years.
The consultant will perform thorough school site surveys, observing traffic patterns, parking patterns, pedestrian traffic, and school on-site operations. The consultant will coordinate all survey efforts with the schools’ administrations and will develop a range of comprehensive solutions fitting each school’s specific needs. These recommendations will be reviewed in monthly meetings with DOT (Parking Compliance, Engineering, and School Safety), the Police Department (School Safety, Traffic Enforcement Unit, and School Liaison Unit) and school officials. Recommendations may include off-site and on-site infrastructure improvements, drop-off and pick-up operational refinements, classroom and parental educational programs, and enforcement efforts. The consultant will also produce work order-ready plans in order to speed implementation of improvements that do not require budget authorization. As recommendations are received, they will be assessed and reviewed by DOT for implementation on an on-going basis.
Proposals were solicited from 30 service providers. Eight firms were present at the pre-proposal meeting, and four proposals were received. A Review Committee comprised of staff from Parking Compliance, Traffic Engineering, and San Jose Unified School District representatives rated the proposals according to the following criteria, in order of priority:
After review of the proposals, it was determined that the proposal from Alta Transportation Consulting Inc. best meets the City’s needs. Alta Transportation Consulting Inc. proposed to commit the most resources, provided the most complete and cohesive program, committed the highest level of expertise for their field personnel, and had a more diverse talent pool from which to draw. Although TJKM submitted a lower bid, their past experience was considered to be less than what is required for this project. The cost differential between Alta Transportation Consulting Inc. and TJKM was considered to be minimal, since these proposals had the least difference among the proposals. Lastly, Alta Transportation Consulting Inc.’s proposal falls within DOT estimates for such services.
Typical hourly rates range from $75-200 per hour for qualified technicians to principal engineers. It is estimated that it will require approximately 40 hours (total) for a 3-person team to assess each school, develop recommendations, confer with officials and prepare plans. Based on an average cost of $130 per hour, it was estimated it would cost $270,000 to complete 52 schools. Alta Transportation Consulting Inc.’s bid came in slightly under this amount.
The following table shows the final rankings based on the quality of the proposals (lower score = higher ranking):
|
Consultant |
Rank |
Score |
Proposal Amount |
|
Alta |
1 |
5 |
$250,000 |
|
Kimlee-Horn |
2 |
11 |
$741,000 |
|
TJKM |
3 |
16 |
$199,600 |
|
W.J. Zimmerman |
4 |
17 |
$446,200 |
Each member of the Review Committee independently rated Alta Transportation Consulting Inc. as his or her primary choice. Alta Transportation Consulting Inc.’s bid was the second lowest, at $250,000.
Input was solicited and received from the San Jose City-Schools Collaborative, school district representatives, the Traffic Calming Advisory Committee, and the Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee.
This memorandum has been coordinated with the General Services Department, the City Attorney’s Office and the City Manager's Budget Office.
The DOT Traffic Calming Program will fund contract expenditures. The subject agreement contains a provision for three optional one-year extensions. The extensions, subject to Council appropriation, include a CPI related increase that could add to the cost by 7% each year. The extensions, at the 7% maximum rate would be calculated as follows: The first extension would be for $ 267,500.00, the second extension would be for $286,225.00 and the third and final extension would be for $306,260.75. The total could be as high as $1.11 million for all four years, combined. Due to the size of this proposed agreement, the scope and cost of subsequent extensions will be reviewed based upon the results of the first-year contract.
Construction and maintenance cost implications could be significant, but are unknown at this time, being dependent upon consultant and DOT recommendations and the amount of right-of-way acquisition, and capital improvements identified. Recommended projects with significant cost and/or maintenance implications will be referred to the annual budget process. All other expenditures would be handled through the Traffic Calming program.
Fund: General Fund–001
Appropriation: 5486
Amount: $1,500,000
Budget Document: 1999-2000 Annual Report Implementing Memo, Attachment 1, page 4, approved by Council on October 17, 2000.
WAYNE K. TANDA, DIRECTOR
Department of Transportation