SR-12-08-2009-1KCity Council Meeting: December 8, 2009
Agenda Item:
To: Mayor and City Council
From: Eileen P. Fogarty, Director, Planning & Community Development
Subject: Contract with Fehr & Peers for Downtown/Civic Center Circulation Study
Recommended Action
Staff recommends that the City .Council authorize the City Manager to negotiate and
execute an amendment to Contract No. 9103(CCS) with Fehr & Peers, for an additional
$65,000, and a 10% contingency, to provide a detailed visual micro-simulation traffic
operational analysis for the intersection of Colorado Avenue and 4th Street to the scope
of work for the Civic Center/Downtown circulation analysis. The amendment will result in
a total not-to-exceed contract amount of $146,000:
Executive Summary
The Exposition Light Rail (Expo LRT) station located at 4th. Street and Colorado Avenue
in Downtown will increase pedestrian activity, modify traffic signal operations, and
change the pattern of bicycle, transit and vehicular traffic in the area. While the future
Expo LRT is an exciting opportunity for the City, it is critical that the additional circulation
demands are proactively addressed. In August 2009, the City Council approved a
contract in the amount of $81,000 with Fehr & Peers (F&P) to analyze a range of
circulation alternatives to address the increased pedestrian presence at the Expo LRT
terminus station and the need to preserve travel time for. transit on 4th Street. At that
time, staff had anticipated that the Expo Construction Authority would provide more
detailed information in the Fihal EIR, including simulation information that would
complement the work being done by Fehr & Peers. However, that information was not
able to be included in the Final EIR.
In order to proceed with proactive planning, staff is recommending that F&P develop a
detailed micro-simulation model including real-time video simulation to illustrate the
effect of three to four combinations of roadway improvements in the Downtown/Civic
Center area. The model will inform the decision-making process, illustrating to the
community and the Council the effects of different combinations of solutions on eight
key intersections in the vicinity of the proposed Expo LRT station in terms of easing
congestion and facilitating circulation. Staff recommends that the City undertake this
activity to enhance the comprehensive planning of circulation in connection with the
RDA-funded projects.
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The proposed contract amendment would add $65,000 for this additional scope of work,
bringing the contract total to $146,000. With a 10% contingency, the additional funding
in the amount of $71,500 is available in Civic Center Planning Accounts #C010820
($41,579)and C170772.589000($29,921).
Background
At the March 24, 2009 City Council discussion on integrating planning for the Expo LRT
terminus station with the Downtown/Civic Center area, circulation improvements to
address pedestrian, bicycle, transit, and vehicular connections were identified as a
priority. At a subsequent meeting on June 9, 2009, City Council recognized the need to
proactively address circulation demands to serve the station and the Downtown/Civic
Center area, and designated Redevelopment funds for "Expo Green Streets and
Pathways" infrastructure improvements. The circulation analysis is a necessary next
step in testing the feasibility and potential effectiveness of possible infrastructure and
other circulation measures throughout the entire Downtown/Civic Center area.
On August 11, 2009, the City Council approved a contract with F&P in the amount of
$81,000, to analyze a range of circulation alternatives to address the increased
pedestrian presence at the Expo LRT terminus station and the need to preserve travel
time for transit on 4th Street. This work has been substantially completed, and the
results have indicated that the proposed VISSIM micro-simulation is necessary for
further testing the potential circulation options. For instance, the real-time video
simulations would facilitate analysis of different combinations of vehicle turning
movements, LRT traffic signal preemption, and traffic delays due to potential rail
crossing gates at different peak times. The micro-simulation would also allow staff to
test different cumulative scenarios, such as combined queuing information for 4th Street
and the I-10 on- and off-ramps, which will also indicate the benefits of the proposed
Fujinomiya Douri Drive extension bridge.
Because micro-simulation is a necessary tool for understanding the effects of multiple
traffic change combinations required by the arrival of the Expo LRT, and a valuable
visualization tool for the community, City staff requested that the Expo Authority
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undertake this analysis as part of their project EIR. Although this was not able to be
done by the Authority, the information is still needed to support the City's planning
efforts in the Civic Center/Downtown area.
Discussion
The micro-simulation will provide a real time video which will analyze a number of
different options for improving the functioning of the street grid. The proposed task
would- entail developing and calibrating a base year micro-simulation model using the
VISSIM micro-simulation software program and then using the model to evaluate the
following scenarios for both AM peak hour and PM .peak hour on a typical weekday:
• 2030 LUCE09 scenario
• 2030 LUCE09 scenario with the tiered approach for analyzing combinations of
turning movements and lane configurations.
VISSIM micro-simulation analysis is an extremely useful tool for demonstrating the
effects of different transportation solutions on the surrounding streets. By adding this
scope of work, Council's decision traffic pattern modifications can be better informed by
a visual simulation that:
• allows evaluation of the interaction on grid rather than by single intersections.
• allows improved evaluation of interaction between vehicles, transit, and
pedestrians in the vicinity of the station;
• allows improved evaluation of LRT pre-emption effect on traffic conditions; and
• provides video animation for improved understanding of the results.
The proposed scope of work would cost $70;000, but the proposed modification takes
into account $5,000 savings from the approved contract, so the additional funding
necessary is $65,000. F&P will provide a technical memo summarizing the findings,
intersection LOS, delay and queuing, plus video simulations that show real-time corridor
traffic conditions (cars, pedestrians, buses and LRT), for the tiered approach. Staff is
pursuing a contract amendment rather than a new contract with a different vendor as it
would not be cost effective to change vendors in mid project. Fehr & Peers have
extensive experience using the VISSIM micro-simulation software program, and can
complete the work within the necessary timeframe. While it will be possible in the future
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to utilize the services of additional vendors in conjunction with this model to do micro-
simulation analysis, the staff recommendation will ensure that the preparation of this
useful decision-making tool is timely and maintains the current schedule for providing
information so that decisions may be made and implemented to meet the necessary
interface with the EXPO Construction Authority schedule.
Financial Impacts & Budget Actions
Additional funding in the amount of $71,500 for the proposed contract amendment is
available in Civic Center Planning Accounts #0010820 ($41,579) and 0170772.589000
($29, 921).
Prepared by: Elizabeth Bar-EI, AICP, Senior Planner
Approved:
Forwarded to Council:
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Reference Amendment
to Contract No. 9103
(ccs).