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sr-061212-3yCity of City ouch Report Santa Monica' City Council Meeting: June 12, 2012 Agenda Item: 3� To: Mayor and City Council From: David Martin, Director Planning and Community Development Subject: School -Based Bicycle and Pedestrian Training Program Contract Award Recommended Action Staff recommends that the City Council authorize the City Manager to negotiate and execute a professional services agreement with Alta Planning + Design, a California - based company, in an amount not to exceed $328,000 to provide grant- funded school - based bicycle and pedestrian training for elementary and middle school students. Authorize the City Manager to accept a grant awarded in the amount of $85,000 from Metro Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality program. Authorize budget changes as outlined in the Financial Impacts and Budget Actions section of this report. Executive Summary The City was awarded a grant from Metro in the amount of $85,000 to complete bicycle safety training at the Lincoln Middle School and John Adams Middle School, and another grant from the federal Safe Routes to School program for $197,000 for a bicycle and pedestrian pilot project, which would include these middle schools as well as two elementary schools. The overall effort is intended to create a Safe Routes to School Program. Following a formal review process, the consultant selection panel is recommending Alta Planning + Design develop and coordinate bicycle and pedestrian education, encouragement, training, and evaluation at the four schools. The cost of the contract will not exceed $328,000. Background In July 2005, Congress passed federal legislation that established a National Safe Routes to School (SRTS) Program to address the lack of walking and biking to school. At its core, the SRTS Program empowers communities to make walking and bicycling to school a safe and routine activity. The Program makes funding available for a wide variety of programs and projects, from building safer street crossings to establishing programs that encourage children and their parents to walk and bicycle safely to school. 99 Locally, students, parents and school administrators have expressed support for increased bicycling and walking to Santa Monica - Malibu Unified School District (District) schools. The Santa Monica High School Solar Alliance first initiated Walk It Bike It Day in 2007. Since that time, each middle school has annually held a "Bike or Walk to School Day" with participation steadily increasing. These events have grown to include participation from three - quarters of all schools within the District, which has increased the interest in walking and biking safety education. This project seeks to facilitate a change in behavior among school children and parents to increase walking and biking to school, an objective of the City's Land Use and Circulation Element (LUCE) and BicVcle Action Plan. Safe Routes to School projects facilitate the implementation of City policy by teaching rules of the road and encouraging safe travel behavior which decreases the likelihood of accident and injury. Increased walking and biking can reduce traffic in school zones which lowers the potential for incidents, and promotes a healthy lifestyle that can reduce the incidence of chronic diseases like diabetes and obesity among children. The LUCE also supports the City partnering with the District to create a SRTS program that will become self - supporting. Discussion This project builds upon the existing grassroots efforts of volunteers, teachers, and faculty to enhance and formalize a comprehensive safe- routes -to- school program by designing and implementing two coordinated education and encouragement programs for students and parents: one for John Adams Middle School and Lincoln Middle School, and one for two elementary schools yet to be determined. The overall objective is to create a model bicycle and pedestrian program that encourages more students to bicycle and walk to school, teaches the rules of the road, and considers operations and enforcement strategies to assist children in arriving to school safely. Each of the four campuses would receive a full school year of walk and bike to school programs that can be easily implemented, evaluated, and replicated from year to year. The final curriculum and encouragement materials would be a transferrable program that may be used at other schools and locations. The Project is intended to enhance safety through 2 education, training and encouragement and does not involve the construction of infrastructure improvements. Consultant Selection On March 15, 2012, a Request for Proposals (RFP) was issued to select a consultant to complete the work. Responses to the RFP were reviewed by a selection panel of staff from the Planning and Community Development Department, Police Department, Community and Cultural Services, and the Santa Monica - Malibu Unified School District. Submitted materials were evaluated based on the following selection criteria: • Project Approach and Understanding • Project Manager and Team Experience • Qualifications and Past Work Experience • Staffing Capacity & Quality • Past Performance and References • Capacity to perform the contract on- schedule and within budget Pursuant to Caltrans Local Assistance Procedures Manual, which must be used due to the grant funding source, cost proposals were not a factor in the selection process. However, the City required cost proposals to be submitted and confirmed that the proposed contract is within the amount budgeted for this project. A total of four firms responded to the RFP which was advertised on the City's online bidding system. The selection panel unanimously recommends Alta Planning + Design (Alta) as the Best Bidder. Alta Planning & Design (Alta) is a California corporation, with an emphasis in transportation planning and design. They were the lead consultant for the Safe Routes to School Program in Santa Clarita, California which is an educational and encouragement program for elementary school students. Furthermore, Alta is currently P leading the process to develop a School and Youth Outreach Program for the San Francisco Bay Area Metropolitan Transportation Commission. Next Steps Following execution of the agreement with Alta, the consultant would begin developing an integrated curriculum for bicycle and pedestrian education to be implemented during the 2012/13 school year. Financial Impacts & Budget Actions The contract to be awarded to Alta is for $328,000. This project is funded by a $197,000 Federal Safe Routes to School grant (C207042.589200 — FY 2011/12 $150,000 and FY 2012/13 $47,000), an $85,000 Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality grant (20415.544480 — FY 2012/13), and $46,000 local Proposition C funding (20415.544242 — FY 2011/12). Award of an $85,000 Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality grant from Metro requires the following FY 2012/13 budget changes: 1. Establish revenue account 20415.408350 in the amount of $85,000 2. Appropriate operating expenditures in the amount of $85,000 at account 20415.544480 to reflect receipt of the Metro grant. Prepared by: Peter Dzewaltowski, Transportation Planning Associate Approved: David Martin, Director Planning and Community Development Forwarded to Council: ~Rod uld City Manager El Reference Contract No. 9603 (CCS).