sr-072412-3aCity Council Meeting: July 24, 2012
Agenda Item: 3-A
To: Mayor and City Council
From: David Martin, Director Planning and Community Development
Subject: Safe Routes to School Contract Award
Recommended Action
Staff recommends that the City Council authorize the City Manager to negotiate and
execute a professional services agreement with Ryan Snyder Associates, a California -
based company, in an amount not to exceed $160,000 to provide safe routes to school
grant- funded design services for improvements at and around Santa Monica High
School.
Executive Summary
The City was awarded a State of California Safe Routes to School Program grant in the
amount of $880,000 with a local match of $100,000 to complete design and construction
of intersection, crosswalk, street, signage and bike storage improvements at Santa
Monica High School ( Samohi). The project is intended to create better access for
students to utilize alternative modes of transportation to school. The project would be
contracted in two phases, with the first phase covering outreach, planning and design
and a second phase for the construction of improvements defined during the planning
process. City and Samohi staff reviewed the five proposals received for the first phase
and interviews were held with the top three firms. The team lead by Ryan Snyder
Associates, with Stantec and Melendrez, is recommended to complete outreach and
develop final plans for improvements around the school. The cost of the contract shall
not exceed $160,000.
Background
California was the first state in the country to legislate a Safe Routes to School Program
with the enactment of AB 1475 in 1999. Eight years later, in 2007, AB 57 extended the
program indefinitely with funding provided from the State Highway Account. Safe
Routes to School Programs are intended to counteract the rise in childhood diseases,
worsening air quality and congestion around schools by funding projects that improve
safety by promoting walking and bicycling to school. The program encourages working
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with parents, students, school staff, and professionals in transportation, engineering,
health, and law enforcement to identify collaborative solutions. The program makes
funding available for a wide variety of programs and physical projects such as providing
bicycle parking, building safer street crossings, and hosting educational events to
encourage children to walk and bicycle safely to school.
Locally, students, parents and school administrators have expressed support for
increased bicycling and walking to Santa Monica - Malibu Unified School District (District)
schools. A large number of students already ride the Big Blue Bus to school, and
walking and biking has been encouraged by the Santa Monica High School Solar
Alliance which first initiated Walk It Bike It Day in 2007. Since that time, `Bike or Walk to
School Days" have caught on at the middle and elementary schools and as of May 2012
three - quarters of all schools participating. These events are generally run by the
students, encouraging other students to ride and walk, and student participation has
been steadily increasing.
This project seeks to build on the student momentum by identifying potential access
improvements around Samohi and evaluating the major surrounding intersections such
as:
• Michigan Avenue and Lincoln Boulevard
• Pico Boulevard and Lincoln Boulevard
• Pico Boulevard and 6th Street
• 4th /street and Civic Center Drive
• 4th Street and Olympic Drive
• Along 7th Street and Olympic Drive adjacent to the school
The project would engage students in a planning process to identify and prioritize
potential improvements with the goal of defining a scope of work that can be
constructed within the grant budget. The grant also specifies the addition of 400 bike
parking spaces for the campus.
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Encouraging walking and biking to school is a goal of the City's Land Use and
Circulation Element and Bicycle Action Plan. Safe Routes to School projects like this
one facilitate the implementation of City policy by creating better connections and
bicycle infrastructure that encourages more students to bicycle and walk to school.
Discussion
This Safe Routes to School grant was awarded in August of 2009 and notice to proceed
was received in October of 2011. The project is proposed to be contracted in two
phases to attract the best planning and design progressionals and to identify a scope of
construction that can be competively bid. The first phase includes outreach, planning
and design. A second phase would occur for the construction of improvements defined
during the planning process. Rough order of magnitude cost estimates during the first
phase will help to inform the scope of the second phase. On May 3, 2012, a Request for
Proposals (RFP) was issued to select a consultant to complete the first phase of work.
Responses to the RFP were reviewed by a selection panel of staff from the Planning
and Community Development Department, Police Department, Public Works, 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
Vendor Selection
A total of five firms responded to the RFP which was advertised on the City's online
purchasing site: Interviews with the top three scoring teams were held in mid -June. The
selection panel unanimously recommends the team lead by Ryan Snyder Associates for
the project.
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Ryan Snyder Associates, and sub consultants Stantec and Melendrez, offer specialized
staff experts that include a Certified National Safe Routes to School Instructor, National
Complete Streets Instructor, and a Federal Highway Administration Pedestrian Safety
Design Instructor. The team has a depth of experience with an emphasis in Safe
Routes to School planning. The team has completed Safe Routes to School plans for
over 55 schools and bicycle and pedestrian plans for cities and counties. They have
also implemented award - winning engineering of bicycle facilities in Long Beach
California, and have worked on numerous projects such as enhanced pedestrian
crossings in Santa Monica. Furthermore, the team is well rounded with local as well as
national planning and engineering experience.
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 has required cost proposals to be submitted and confirmed that the
proposed contract is within the amount budgeted for this project. The total budget for
Phase I will be $160,000.
Next Steps
If authorized the consultant would begin field work and outreach to capture student
behavior and traffic patterns at the beginning of the 2012/2013 school year. Staff
anticipates returning to Council the summer of 2013 for authorization to negotiate and
execute a professional services agreement for phase two of the project.
CI
Financial Impacts & Budget Actions
The contract to be awarded Ryan Snyder Associates shall not exceed $160,000. The
project is funded by a State of California Safe Routes to School Program grant, and
funds are included in the FY2012 -13 Adopted Budget at the following accounts:
0207042.589000 $149,000
C017042.589100 $20,000
TOTAL $169,000
Prepared by: Michelle Glickert, Senior Transportation Planner
Approved:
Davidirector
Planning and Community Development
Forwarded to Council:
n
Rod Gould � ~J
City Manager
Reference Contract No.
9616 (CCS)