The Transportation Management Association of Chester County REQUEST OF SUBMISSIO OF CO SULTA T FIRM REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIO S FOR:

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1 The Transportation Management Association of Chester County REQUEST OF SUBMISSIO OF CO SULTA T FIRM REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIO S FOR: Great Valley/Route 29 Multi-Modal Study I. I TRODUCTIO The Transportation Management Association of Chester County (TMACC) is requesting expressions of interest from consulting firms to provide professional services for the preparation of a transportation feasibility study for the Great Valley region. The region for the study includes 3 municipalities - East Whiteland, Charlestown, Tredyffrin but lies primarily within East Whiteland Twp. The purpose of the study is to analyze the existing assets and constraints that affect bicycle, pedestrian and transit opportunities in the Great Valley Region. The project deliverable will be a bicycle, pedestrian and transit feasibility study to be provided to TMACC in both printed and electronic forms. This project is funded by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) through the Pennsylvania Community Transportation Initiative (PCTI) program administered by the Delaware Valley Planning Commission (DVRPC). This program provides support for building great communities by linking transportation investments with land use planning and decisionmaking. It is intended to reverse the trends of urban sprawl and increase transportation options for Pennsylvania communities. All activities by the selected consultant must meet the administrative criteria of the funding agencies and grant programs. The study will recognize and draw upon important goals and policies contained within local municipal plans, the Chester County Landscapes2 Plan and the regional DVRPC Connections Plan. TMACC will serve as the lead agency for administration of the grant. For purposes of this document, TMACC will be referred to as client. This effort will be under the general administrative supervision of TMACC Planning and Operations Manager, Paul DesRocher. To submit qualifications and request additional information, please contact: Paul DesRocher Manager, Planning and Operations TMACC 7 Great Valley Pkwy, Ste 144 Malvern, PA paul@tmacc.org RFQ Due Date: Short-listed candidates will be notified of proposal due date TMACC Page 1

2 II. BACKGROU D A D PURPOSE OF THE STUDY A. Project Summary The Great Valley area is extremely auto-dependent and suffers from significant congestion problems. The overall lack of sidewalks, approved pedestrian crossings, bike facilities and transit amenities in Great Valley erodes PennDOT-funded transportation demand management (TDM) efforts by TMACC and significantly reduces safety and accessibility for all transportation modes. Great Valley s corporate offices further compel automobile use by providing free and plentiful parking and orienting building entrances to vehicle parking lots and set back far from roads. The Transportation Management Association of Chester County (TMACC) recognizes that a smart transportation system should provide the infrastructure necessary to support multi modal access, including walking, bicycling, transit, and automobiles. Safety and mobility for all roadway users (pedestrians, motorists, transit users and bikers) must be equally considered and provided for in order to aid Great Valley s transition from its current auto-centric configuration to an environment supportive of alternative transportation. The overarching goal of this study is to produce a circulation plan for bicycle, pedestrian and transit traffic that supports their safe, efficient and comfortable movement throughout Great Valley. B. Study Area Although the heart of the study area runs along Route 29, the study area is generally defined as the area bound by Route 30/Lincoln Hwy to the south, Cedar Hollow Rd. to the east, the Pennsylvania Turnpike/Interstate 76 to the north, and Sidley Road to the west in the townships of East Whiteland, Charlestown, and Tredyffrin in Chester County, PA. *Please see attached map for study area outline. TMACC Page 2

3 III. SCOPE OF WORK A D DELIVERABLES ( OTE: A specific scope of services will be negotiated with the selected consultant. The following scope of work serves as a basis for prospective consultants to understand the project and not as a constraint for the consultant to add or limit some or several major aspects of the study.) Task 1 Project Management/Administration This task consists of the administrative effort required by the project manager and involved personnel to provide a high quality deliverable within the budget and on schedule. The consultant will prepare an initial project schedule and identify the critical path and milestones, including necessary meetings with a Study Advisory Committee. The schedule and budget will be maintained and monitored on a monthly basis. The consultant will prepare monthly status reports and submit to TMACC (Paul DesRocher, Manager, Planning and Operations). Task 2 Existing Conditions and Scoping This task involves gathering all appropriate pre-project data in reference to the study area. Geographic Information System (GIS) data will be provided to the consultant team at its request by project partners, including Chester County Planning Commission, DVRPC and PennDOT. Other data to be compiled from existing sources includes traffic counts and/or truck counts. The consultant team will conduct a field view with representatives from TMACC to collect photo documentation and discuss existing conditions. The findings of the existing conditions and scoping field view will be summarized in maps of existing rights-of-way (ROW), land uses, natural resources (floodplains, wetlands, open space, steep slopes), parking availability, land use and historic and cultural resources. Task 3 Corridor Options and Conceptual Improvement Proposal Based on existing conditions, this task includes developing viable options for improving corridor conditions for bicyclists, pedestrians, and transit users within the study area. The proposed alternatives will include necessary connections to existing bicycle, pedestrian and transit facilities within and nearby the Great Valley area with particular attention paid to connecting Great Valley employees to the Chester Valley Trail via a north/south bicycle/pedestrian alignment. The consultant shall not be bound by existing rights-of-way and is encouraged to consider alternative alignments where appropriate. Task 4 Future Traffic Conditions The consultant will examine existing traffic counts as well as projections on future traffic conditions available through recent Great Valley project preparations such as PennDOT s US 202, Section 300 widening and the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission s Route 29 All-Electronic Interchange. The consultant will explore how current and expected traffic conditions may impact the bicycle, pedestrian, and transit environment, as well as the bicycle, pedestrian, and transit connectivity improvements that are proposed. This task should pay particular attention to improving the pedestrian experience and environment amongst expected future increases in vehicular traffic. Task 5 Environmental Screening TMACC Page 3

4 This task includes preparation of an environmental screening of study area corridors to identify potential effects on the natural and human environment. The consultant team will evaluate potential impacts on natural resources, including floodplains, wetlands, open space and steep slopes. The consultant will also investigate potential impacts on any cultural or historic resources. Finally, the consultant will consider right-of-way impacts and needs for any new alignments, based on available data. Data from PennDOT s new Linking Planning and NEPA (LPN) web application is strongly recommended for use in completing this task. Task 6 Recommended Alternative and Cost Estimate Based on the results from the traffic assessment and environmental screening, the consultant will work with project partners to select a recommended roadway redesign and conceptual improvements. Based on this alternative, the consultant will develop cost estimates to implement the project. The costs will be presented by phase, including preliminary engineering and environmental clearance, final design, and any necessary right-of-way acquisition. The consultant will also develop conceptual color illustrations or photographic simulations of the recommended design showing the roadway cross section, which should include sidewalks and/or trails. Task 7 Public Involvement TMACC will be the lead organizer of this task but will request assistance from the consultant teams for oral presentations. This task includes preparing materials and coordinating two public meetings, made up of one lunchtime workshop and one public charrette, and one focus group meeting for property owners that will be directly impacted by the preferred alternative. The purpose of the public meetings will be to gather input from employees, residents and business owners concerning the potential improvements. The purpose of the focus group meeting with property owners will be to explain the feasibility study and potential impacts to their property. TMACC will also develop a project website in which project information, progress and surveys will be marketed to area employees and employers. The purpose of the surveys will be to gather input in the direction of the project that will be organized and shared with the Consultant. The website will better enable the distribution of information about the project and help garner support for it. Task 8 Draft and Final Report The consultant will prepare a draft report for the Study Advisory Committee to review and provide comments. The report will include texts, maps, and other graphics that document the findings from each task. The consultant will provide 11 printed copies and a shareable electronic copy and distribute to project partners. Deliverables: Printed copies and electronic copies to distribute to project partners. In addition, the consultant will support TMACC s public outreach efforts through the production of presentation materials such as handouts and power point presentations. TMACC Page 4

5 IV. CO TE T OF QUALIFICATIO S The qualifications should include the following information, but not necessarily in the order as presented below: 1. Summary Statement - The Proposal shall contain an opening statement (no more than two pages) summarizing how the Project Team will accomplish the purposes of the project and should also summarize the roles and qualifications of the Project Team. 2. arrative Statement Issues, Problems and Opportunities (6 pages): In addition to identifying the issues, problems and opportunities, any special data needs, special methods of analysis, milestones, end products and procedures that are believed to enhance the project. 3. Schedule (1 page): A schedule of events that corresponds to the sequence contained in the technical proposal. 4. Clients (2 pages): A list of clients, including their names, addresses and telephone numbers, for whom you have performed similar work of a similar scale. 5. Project Team (2 pages per person Max): A description of the project team and resumes of key staff, including the role of all subcontractors. Include an organizational chart for the team. 6. Project Manager (included in the project team description): The name, telephone number and address of the proposed project manager. 7. Demonstration of Skills (6 pages Max): A statement describing the project team s (1) experience in the production and use of graphics, and reports as means of communication to the public for performing the work described herein, and (2) experience in working with citizen, business, professional and government leaders. 8. Task Effort An estimate of the percent of effort anticipated for each task. An appropriate PERT, Gantt or CPM Chart for the study is recommended. TMACC Page 5

6 V. EVALUATIO CRITERIA Negotiations and award of the contract will be to the firm that provides the most advantageous qualification, all things considered. The TMACC Board of Directors acting on behalf of the client reserves the right to reject any and all qualifications. U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) Form 330 will be required for firms with no qualifications on file. The GSA form can be found on the GSA Library website at Upon receipt of Statement of Interest (SOI), the top three ranked firms will be shortlisted and technical proposals will be requested. Technical proposals will be reviewed by the Selection Committee and firms chosen. If selection is approved by PennDOT, a price proposal will be requested and PennDOT will generate a consultant agreement between TMACC and chosen consultant. The top ranked firms after the initial evaluation may be asked to make oral presentations to the client. Each firm s proposed project manager must take part in the presentation. The qualifications and oral presentations will also be evaluated on the basis of the weighted criteria listed as follows: 1. Professional Qualifications: (Weight 20%) The firm must establish qualifications to satisfactorily perform the work needed to prepare the context sensitive strategic plan described herein. 2. Excellence of arrative: (Weight 30%) The narrative should cover issues and problems and discuss the approach to performing the project. The narrative must not repeat the scope of services described above the narrative statement should be organized by tasks with a detailed description of how the project team will complete the scope of services. The details should include a project schedule, special data needs, special methods of analysis, graphic (including hardcopy, photographic, digital and video formats), milestones, end products and procedures. 3. Application of Innovative Techniques: (Weight 10%) The activities contained in the scope of services are representative of a general approach to meet the project objectives. Consultants may (1) develop alternative approaches, and (2) offer suggestions for enhancing specific tasks or the overall work. 4. Demonstrated Interpersonal Skills: (Weight 30%) This project will involve the consultant working directly with local government leaders and the public. A statement describing the following information should be provided: 5. Knowledge of Local Conditions: (Weight 10%) The narrative statement must demonstrate your understanding of the interaction of this project with local conditions. TMACC Page 6

7 VI. ADMI ISTRATIVE REQUIREME TS A. Submission Date: Qualifications must be submitted by 5:00 PM, <Mo/Day/Yr, to Paul DesRocher, Manager, Planning and Operations. TMACC, 7 Great Valley Pkwy, Ste 144, Malvern, PA Qualifications submitted after this time and date will not be considered. B. Pre-RFP Meeting: The client will host a pre-rfp submittal meeting on <Mo/Day/Yr> at 9:00 am at TMACC s offices. See address above. C. Number of copies: eleven copies of the proposal are to be submitted along with an electronic version on a compact disk. D. Length of proposal: Proposals shall be limited to ~20 pages (see Sec IV for page limit details) not including project team resumes. Resumes of participants should be limited to two pages with the exception of the proposed project manager. E. Contract: The contract will be between TMACC and the selected firm who will be administratively responsible to TMACC. The contract will be of the cost reimbursable with a fixed fee, not to exceed type. Contract standards will be consistent the standard articles of agreement required by the PennDOT. F. Billing will be monthly unless specifically approved by the township and DVRPC. Reimbursement payments shall occur from 30 to 45 days after receipt. G Certification of Eligibility: A certificate is to be included in the proposal for each firm stating that: "The firm is not ineligible to receive award of a contract due to the firm's inclusion on any federal, or Pennsylvania State lists of debarred contractors, or otherwise ineligible to be awarded a contract using federal or state funds." H. Project Schedule January 2012 February 2012 March 2012 April 2012 April 2013 Distribution of RFP Receipt of RFP Selection of Consultant Study Underway Final Plan Completion TMACC Page 7