City Council
Staff Report
From: City Manager
Report Type: CONSENT CALENDAR
Lead Department: Transportation
Meeting Date: March 4, 2024
Report #:2311-2269
TITLE
Approval of Professional Services Contract Number C24189371 with Kimley Horn and Associates in an Amount Not to Exceed $178,559 for the Quiet Zone Study Services for railroad crossings at Churchill Avenue, Meadow Drive, and Charleston Road for a term ending December 31, 2025; CEQA – not a project.
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends the Council approve and authorize the City Manager or designee to execute Contract No. C24189371 (Attachment A), with Kimley Horn and Associates, to perform the Quiet Zone Study Services for the total amount not-to-exceed of $178,559 which includes $162,359 for basic services and $16,200 as a contingency for additional services.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Over time, the city has received numerous community concerns about train noise along the Caltrain Corridor. In 2022, the City of Palo Alto, in collaboration with the City of Menlo Park, conducted a Quiet Zone study for Palo Alto Avenue crossing. The City Council approved the conceptual plan for proposed improvements at Palo Alto Avenue on June 12, 2023. Currently, Staff is in the process of developing the final design of improvements required for the implementation of the Quiet Zone at Palo Alto Avenue crossing.
As the subsequent phase of the study, the Office of Transportation staff is now progressing with a Quiet Zone Study at the other three crossings namely, Churchill Avenue, Meadow Drive, and Charleston Road. The Quiet Zone will serve as an interim measure until Grade Separation Projects are constructed at these crossings. This staff report provides the findings of the City’s procurement efforts to secure the services of a consultant and seek approval for the award of the Consultant Contract to perform a Study. Staff recommends that the Council authorize the City Manager to execute the contract with Kimley Horn and Associates for performing a Quiet Zone Study which also includes the scope of providing recommendations for improvements necessary at these three crossings to implement Quiet Zone(s) in Palo Alto.
BACKGROUND
Federal regulation requires that locomotive horns begin sounding 15–20 seconds before entering public rail grade crossings, no more than one-quarter mile in advance. These horns produce sounds from 96 to 110 decibels for at-grade crossings. The sound noise affects the quality of life of the Palo Alto residents in the vicinity of the railroad crossings and causes significant noise pollution.
Local agencies, however, can implement Quiet Zones where railroads have been directed to cease the routine of sounding their horns when approaching public highway-rail grade crossings. Train horns may still be used in emergencies or to comply with other Federal regulations or railroad operating rules. The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) Title 49 regulations provide the opportunity for localities nationwide to mitigate the effects of train horn noise by establishing Quiet Zones. The regulations require a quiet zone study to review the Quiet Zone Risk Index (QZRI) qualifying for quiet zone or Supplemental Safety Measures (SSM) at each crossing. Based on the study, the crossings need to be upgraded to be safer without horns than they are in the current state with horns before proceeding with quiet zones.
The City of Palo Alto (City) has received several requests for consideration of Quiet Zone at crossings across the Caltrain Corridor. As the first phase of this project, in early 2022, City of Palo Alto staff, in coordination with the City of Menlo Park conducted a Quiet Zone study that included consideration of a quiet zone at the Palo Alto Avenue/Alma Street crossing. The study was completed with the assistance of the consultant procured through the City of Menlo Park.
The Office of Transportation staff is now working toward designing the required improvements for the implementation of Quiet Zone at Palo Alto Avenue Crossing. The conceptual plan for the proposed improvements at Palo Alto Avenue crossing was approved by the City Council on June 19, 2023 (Staff Report 2305-1414)1
The city has received continued interest from the community for quiet zones at other crossings of Churchill Avenue, Meadow Drive, and Charleston Road along the Caltrain Corridor. The residents are concerned about the volumes, frequency, duration, and time frame of train horns in Palo Alto. Even though the city is considering the Grade Separation at these locations, these large infrastructure projects are highly complex, and generally take a long time to fully construct such facilities. As a result, the Council and Rail Committee had indicated interest in considering quiet zone study at all crossings in Palo Alto. Therefore, this parallel effort has been initiated to review these existing grade crossings for the consideration of quiet zone(s).
ANALYSIS
The Office of Transportation in coordination with the City’s procurement staff requested proposals from qualified engineering consultants to conduct a study for implementing Quiet Zone(s) at the three crossings of Churchill Avenue, Meadow Drive, and Charleston Road. The project scope will include conducting outreach and community feedback in preparing recommendations and conceptual plans for implementation of Quiet Zone(s). 1 https://cityofpaloalto.primegov.com/meeting/document/2145.pdf?name=Item%208%20Staff%20Report Solicitation Process
A request for proposals (RFP) for the project was posted on October 10, 2023, on OpenGov, the City’s eProcurement platform. The solicitation period was open for 30 days and only one (1) proposal was received. The solicitation closed on November 9, 2023.
Summary of Request for Proposal
Proposal Description Quiet Zone Study RFP No. 189371
Proposed Length of Project 12 months
Number of Proposal Packages Downloaded 17
Total Days to Respond to Proposal 30
Pre-Proposal Meeting No
Pre-Proposal Meeting Date NA
Number of Proposals Received 1
Proposal Price Range $162,359
Public Link to Solicitation https://procurement.opengov.com/portal/ palo-alto-ca/projects/62941
Staff believes that due to the highly competitive environment and the specialized nature of the study, which requires experience with operating railroads, and working with Federal and State agencies; there are limited consultants available in the market to perform such studies.
Additionally, staff reached out to the potential proposers for feedback; some expressed that due to existing proposal commitments and scheduling constraints, they were unable to submit a proposal for this project and they only propose if they know that their service can deliver and meet the high standards of quality at City of Palo Alto. Consequently, staff believes that the city received a limited number of bids for this Request for Proposal.
The proposals were evaluated and determined to be responsive to the criteria identified in the RFP. Kimley Horn and Associates was selected because of the quality and effectiveness of their services, the experience of their field staff, prior record of performance with the city, and their ability to provide future services. Additionally, Kimley Horn is the consultant working on the Palo Avenue Quiet Zone Project and other crossings in Menlo Park, therefore it will provide continuity to the project. This contract is on the City’s professional services template, which permits the City to terminate without cause/for convenience by providing written notice to the consultant
FISCAL/RESOURCE IMPACT
Funding of $178,559 is available in the FY 2024 Adopted Capital Budget in the Transportation and Parking Improvements project (PL-12000).
STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT
The project scope includes outreach to the community and various committees involved with transportation-related issues.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
Conduct a Quiet Zone Study is not a project under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) as defined in CEQA Guidelines, section 15378, because it has no potential for resulting in either a direct or reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment. Any future capital improvements recommended through the study will be subject to CEQA Review at the time of approval.
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment A: Kimley Horn and Associates Contract No. C24189371 APPROVED BY:
Philip Kamhi, Chief Transportation Official