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sr-020811-3k (2)City Council Meeting: February 8, 2011 Agenda Item: ~ ~~- To: Mayor and City Council From: Eileen P. Fogarty, Director, Planning & Community Development Subject: Contract Amendment with Fehr & Peers Downtown and Bergamot Station LUCE implementation Circulation Analysis. Recommended Action Staff .recommends that City Council authorize the City Manager to execute. a contract amendment with: 1) Fehr & Peers (Contract #9103) for an additional amount not to exceed $275,100 for a contract total of $619,100 to provide detailed travel demand modeling and micro- simulation traffic operational analysis services for implementation of the LUCE and Expo Light Rail, in the Downtown and Bergamot station areas. Executive Summary The recently updated Land Use and Circulation Element (LUCE) integrates fundamental land use and transportation policies into a framework that guides the amount, location and type of change. occurring within the City. The Bergamot Area Plan and the Downtown Specific Plan are two. current strategic and transportation planning efforts being conducted to support LUCE implementation. The Exposition Light Rail (Expo LRT) at Bergamot Station- and in the Downtown will increase pedestrian activity, modify traffic signal operations, and change the pattern of bicycle, transit and vehicular traffic in these areas. In August 2009, the City Council approved a contract to analyze 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. In December 2009 and June 2010 the City Council approved contract amendments to utilize the traffic operational analysis program called "VISSIM," which is the most effective means to address how train operations affect traffic circulation at intersections in the Downtown street network. It has become clear that the VISSIM tool needs to be employed over an expanded range of intersections along the Expo line, including additional intersections within the Bergamot Area Plan and the Downtown Specific Plan. Fehr & Peers will utilize a combination of both the VISSIM analysis tools and the City's Travel Demand Forecasting Model (created as part of the LUCE) to inform the LUCE implementation efforts. The traffic analyses will inform the decision-making process, studying different combinations of solutions at key intersections in the vicinity of the proposed Expo LRT stations. Funding for the proposed contract is available in the Expo LR CIP Rail Reserve account created for station area planning and community outreach and the LUCE implementation professional services budget. The Fehr & Peers amendment is for an amount not-to-exceed $275,100, bringing the total not-to-exceed contract amount to $619,100. Fehr & Peers has created both the citywide Travel Demand Forecasting Model and the Downtown VISSIM model, and have a thorough understanding of travel patterns and traffic issues throughout the City. They have extensive experience using micro- simulation software and have provided excellent service to date in a compact schedule, showing they can continue to complete the work within the necessary timeframe. Background In July 2010 the Santa Monica City Council unanimously adopted the updated Land Use and Circulation Element (LUCE) of the City's General Plan which establishes a comprehensive vision to guide land use and transportation policy for the next 20 to 30 years. The adoption of the Plan is the culmination of a community dialogue that involved thousands of residents, businesses, interest groups and neighborhood associations, and which ensures Santa Monica's long-term health and sustainability. The General Plan establishes the framework for subsequent implementation efforts including the synthesis of land use visions and transportation improvement with programs such as bicycling, pedestrian, transit and vehicle .infrastructure; transportation demand management programs; and the standards of an updated Zoning Ordinance. A coordinated approach to the first phase of LUCE Implementation was presented to Council on December 14, 2010. Following Council support for the implementation approach staff has selected a team of consultants to provide specialized expertise to complete priority LUCE implementation projects on an expedited schedule. At the March 24, 2009 City Council discussion on integrating planning for the Expo LRT terminus station with the Downtown/Civic Center area, identifying circulation improvements to address pedestrian, bicycle, transit, and vehicular connections as a 2 priority. Subsequently, on June 9. 2009, City Council recognized the need to proactively address circulation demands to serve the station and the Downtown/Civic Center area, designating Redevelopment funds for "Expo Green Streets and Pathways" infrastructure improvements. On August 11, 2009, the City Council approved a contract with Fehr & Peers 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. On December 8. 2009 the City Council approved a contract amendment for an additional $65,000, for the use of the VISSIM micro-simulation tool for .determining traffic improvement alternatives required by the arrival of the Expo. LRT. On June 24, 2010, the City Council approved a contract amendment with Fehr & Peers in the amount of $198,000 to expand the scope of the analysis to include additional intersections in the Downtown east to Lincoln Boulevard and North to Santa Monica Boulevard. The continued circulation analyses included as part of this contract amendment expand the scope of analysis. With this contract amendment, Fehr & Peers will be tasked with evaluating the feasibility and potential effectiveness of circulation improvements to integrate the Light Rail with the Downtown Specific Plan, to develop a circulation network that will include the Colorado Esplanade, the Downtown Specific Plan, and the visioning process for the city-owned site at 5t" and Arizona. This amendment will also expand the scope of analysis to include the evaluation of similar circulation issues around Bergamot Station. Discussion Currently underway are separate planning efforts for the Bergamot Transit Village and Mixed-Use Creative Districts (Bergamot Area Plan), and -the Downtown Specific Plan. These efforts integrate more detailed design, land use and transportation planning efforts within the districts. The planning efforts respond to unique needs, opportunities, and community priorities for each district, addressing height, mass, scale and standards not specifically outlined in the LUCE, as well as outlining strategies for integrating land 3 use and transportation. Incorporating information on actual train operational characteristics (e.g., headways, potential train speeds, length of time the train is stopped in the stations) reveals the extent to which the train will alter current and future traffic patterns. Building on the work that has already been done, this contract amendment would expand the system-wide analysis to address overall traffic circulation in the Bergamot area and on the Downtown network, using the City's Travel. Demand Forecasting Model developed for the LUCE. Specifically, new analysis would incorporate intersections north of the. Centinela and CloverField off-ramps, including intersections at Olympic/Stewart/Nebraska and Olympic/26th, and additional proposed links in the Bergamot area network; and an expanded analysis of the Downtown network to support LUCE implementation through the Downtown Specific Plan. There is a critical link between the plans implementing the LUCE and the detailed design and engineering for the Expo Light Rail. It is important that these plans be completed quickly so that the City can provide informed guidance to developers for integration with Expo Light Rail stations. This process will continue to require the City to remain highly interactive with the Expo Construction Authority as it finalizes the planning for the line through Santa Monica. This next stage will include extensive community outreach to ensure opportunities for input as the planning evolves. Contractor/Consultant Selection Fehr & Peers was procured competitively through. an RFP process in 2009. Fehr & Peers have extensive experience using the VISSIM micro-simulation software program and have provided excellent service in a compact schedule, showing they can continue to complete the work within the necessary timeframe. Fehr & Peers will continue using the citywide Travel Demand Forecasting Model which they created as part of the LUCE process, in addition to VISSIM modeling for ongoing planning refinement and evaluation of circulation alternatives. The analyses will inform the decision-making process, providing quantitative data for different combinations of 4 solutions at key intersections in and around the planning areas in Downtown and Bergamot. Additionally, the analysis will provide usable traffic data for environmental review of future projects. Financial Impacts & Budget Actions Funding for the proposed contract is available in the Expo LR CIP Rail Reserve account created for station area planning and community outreach and the LUCE implementation professional services budget. The proposed contract amendment with Fehr & Peers would add $275,100 for additional analysis, bringing the contract total to $619,100. The Fehr & Peers contract amendment will be paid with: $75,100 from Account 0200224.589065 (Rail Reserve Station Area Planning); $122,500 from Account No. 0017039 (LUCE Implementation Specific Plans), and $77,500 from the HUD Community Challenge Grant in account P206028.589000. Prepared by: Sarah Lejeune, Principal Planner Approved: uueuui, ridllll Development Forwarded to Council: Rod Gould City Manager 5 Reference Contract No. 9103 (CCS).