The term "complete streets" describes a process and approach to street design intended to enhance safety, create more sustainable transportation options, decrease dependence on driving, and improve public health by encouraging active transportation like walking and biking. The benefits of complete streets projects include:
- Increased transportation choices
- Economic revitalization
- Improved return on infrastructure investments
- Livable communities
- Improved safety for all users
- More walking and bicycling to improve public health
- Greenhouse gas reduction and improved air quality
The Transportation Agency is often involved with project delivery and grant applications for complete streets projects. Caltrans recently approved a policy for all new transportation projects it funds or oversees to include complete streets features with the objective to expand the availability of sustainable transportation options to help meet the state’s climate, health and equity goals. The Transportation Agency is committed to planning, funding, and delivering projects that incorporate complete streets features along the designated highway network managed by Caltrans, and TAMC staff provides support to member agencies as they develop plans and grant applications for complete streets projects throughout Monterey County.
Staff proposes to use on-call professional service contracts to provide traffic engineering and ancillary services for complete streets projects. The attached request for qualifications will be used to select an on-call traffic engineering team or teams to assist the delivery of complete street projects, as detailed in the Scope of Services that is part of the attached Request for Qualifications. In general, this contract anticipates the need for on-call traffic engineering and ancillary consulting services to:
- develop conceptual designs for stand-alone projects that feature complete streets concepts (e.g., roundabouts, curb extensions, raised crosswalks);
- conduct benefit-cost ratio analysis and produce exhibits (e.g., vicinity/location maps, benefit-cost ratios, project renderings) for grant applications for complete streets projects;
- develop concepts and designs intended to create unique, interesting places that reflect the diverse values, culture, and heritage of the people who live there;
- facilitate public outreach efforts intended to build consensus around conceptual designs including work providing data and graphics that demonstrate the ability of complete streets design features to effectively address specific safety issues and stakeholder concerns;
- provide third-party plan review of designs involving complete street features with a special emphasis on roundabout designs involving Caltrans review or approval;
- collect traffic data and conduct traffic analysis to assure adequate operations and design standards are met; and
- prepare bid packages (plans, specifications, and cost estimates) for small-scale projects that include complete street features.
The Agency received six statements of qualifications and selected four teams for interviews that were held on February 16, 2023. The list of the highest qualified firms will be sent to the TAMC Board for consideration at an upcoming meeting.
Once the list of TAMC qualified on-call consultants has been established, local jurisdictions can use the list to streamline their procurement process. Agencies are able to use the TAMC on-call list to define a shortlist of pre-qualified firms that the agency would solicit request for bids. Each of the firms on this shortlist must be provided an opportunity to bid on the proposal. The pre-qualification process shortens the review time and ensures that the firms have the requisite skills to perform traffic engineering with a complete streets focus. This will ultimately result in higher quality bids.