City Council
Staff Report
From: City Manager
Report Type: CONSENT CALENDAR
Lead Department: Transportation
Meeting Date: December 2, 2024
Report #:2409-3495
TITLE
Approval of Professional Services Contract Number C25191013 with BKF Engineers in an Amount Not to Exceed $451,705 for Preliminary Engineering (PE) Design Services for Railroad Crossing Safety Improvements for a Period of Four Years; CEQA status - categorically exempt under CEQA Guidelines Section 15301.
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends that Council approve and authorize the City Manager or their designee to execute Contract No. C25191013 (Attachment A) with BKF Engineers to provide Preliminary Engineering (PE) design services for Charleston Road and Alma Street Railroad Crossing Safety Improvements, Capital Improvement Project (PL-25002) for a term of four (4) years and a total amount not to exceed $451,705, including $397,705 for basic services and $54,000 for additional services.
BACKGROUND
The Charleston Road at-grade railroad crossing was identified by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) for possible funding of hazard elimination and safety improvements through the Federal Section 130 funds. The Section 130 program is a federally funded program, administered by the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), for the elimination of hazards at highway-rail at-grade crossings. This location was identified as a candidate location via a data-driven methodology which includes, but is not limited to train and vehicle volumes, geometric factors, pedestrians, buses and hazmat vehicles, and incident history. While the City is pursuing construction of a grade separation at this crossing, the Section 130 program provides near-term safety improvements in the interim.
The City of Palo Alto (City), CPUC, California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), and the Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board (JPB aka Caltrain) established a diagnostic team and participated in the development of the project proposal. Based on this work, the CPUC Rail Crossings and Engineering Section adopted final recommendations for safety improvements to
be implemented at this intersection. The recommendations identified both railroad work and local work to be performed by the Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board (JPB) and the City, respectively, under separate service contracts with Caltrans. The JPB and the City are responsible for the construction of the improvements identified and assigned to their agency under their individual Caltrans contracts and are required to coordinate their respective work items. The City executed its service contract with Caltrans on November 9, 2023 and received a Notice to Proceed to complete engineering design for improvements identified within the City’s right of way. These improvements are 100% fundable by the Section 130 program on a reimbursement basis.
The railroad crossing improvement project at Charleston Road and Alma Street is a coordinated project of Caltrans in cooperation with the JPB and the City.
ANALYSIS
The City released a Request for Proposals (RFP) on May 9, 2024 for design services needed for proposed improvements for the Charleston Road and Alma Street Railroad Crossing Safety Improvement Section 130 Project and received two proposals in response to the RFP. Staff from the Office of Transportation and Public Works Department reviewed the proposals and recommended the selection of BKF Engineers, based on proposal content and criteria identified in the RFP, including their knowledge of traffic engineering and rail design, experience with projects involving Section 130 funds, and prior working relationship with JPB and Caltrain staff.
A summary of the solicitation and selection process is outlined below:
Table #: Summary of Request for Proposal
Proposal Description C25191013 Charleston/Alma Railroad Crossing Safety Improvement
Proposed Length of Project 4 Years
Number of Vendors Notified 3,142
Number of Proposal Packages Downloaded 37
Total Days to Respond to Proposal 27
Pre-Proposal Meeting Yes. Non-Mandatory
Pre-Proposal Meeting Date May 16, 2024
Number of Proposals Received 2
Proposal Price Range $451,705 to $645,106
Public Link to Solicitation https://procurement.opengov.com/portal/pal o-alto-ca/projects/95104
The proposals were evaluated based on the following criteria:
1. Quality of proposal
2. Proposed solution
3. Financial condition or stability
4. Prior record of performance
5. Ability to provide ongoing service
6. Consultant’s compliance with applicable laws, regulations, and policies
7. Ability to collaborate with multiple agencies
8. Qualifications and experience of the staff assigned to the project;
9. Response time and ability to perform the work; and
10. Fee
BKF Engineers demonstrated successful completion of projects along the rail corridor and have experience coordinating and providing services to the Joint Powers Board (JPB), Caltrain, and Union Pacific. They have performed thorough traffic analysis and development of plans, specifications and estimates in a timely manner. In prior projects, BKF identified some of the challenges and opportunities with coordination and regular stakeholder meetings. They presented solutions to the challenges and proposed designs that incorporated these opportunities. They have shown strong and experienced community outreach by involving the public in the early design process through presentations and interactive community workshops so that the project meets the goals and objectives of the community.
FISCAL/RESOURCE IMPACT
Funding for the safety improvements to the Charleston/Alma grade crossing is available in the Fiscal Year 2025 Adopted Capital Improvement Plan Project Charleston Road/Alma Street Railroad Crossing Safety Improvements (PL-25002) with no additional budgetary action required.
This project is funded through a Caltrans Service Contract, dated November 9, 2023, that provides up to $700,000 for completing the Preliminary Engineering (PE) design phase for local road improvements in the City of Palo Alto at the grade crossing located at the intersection of Charleston Road and Caltrain railroad grade crossing. The agreement with Caltrans authorizes reimbursement of eligible costs for design incurred during the term of this agreement. Under this agreement, funding is authorized for work in phases, beginning with the Preliminary Engineering (PE) phase. Additional funding to complete this project will be provided through the execution of amendments for additional work and with authorization for subsequent phase(s); Right of Way/Utility Relocation (RW), Construction (CON)/Construction Engineering (CE). The crossing was identified through the Federal Section 130 funds, a federally funded program administered by the states for increasing safety at at-grade highway-rail crossings. The agreement is in effect until June 30, 2026.
STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT
The project scope includes outreach to the community and various committees on project objectives, soliciting site-specific feedback on existing issues, understanding existing community concerns, and coordinating proposed improvements with entities that operate and oversee the nearby railroad facilities.
In addition, the design team will be conducting monthly stakeholder check-in meetings to give the pertinent stakeholders an update on the project’s progress and provide a forum for the design team, City, and stakeholders to discuss and coordinate the proposed improvements. The stakeholders that will be involved in the monthly meeting include:
• BKF Engineers
• The City of Palo Alto
• California Department of Transportation (Caltrans)
• The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC)
• Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board (Caltrain, JPB)
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
Given the nature of the proposed improvements for the project (safety improvements to an existing intersection), the project qualifies for a Class 1 Categorical Exemption under CEQA Guidelines Section 15301. The Class 1 exemption covers minor alterations to existing facilities so long as they involve no or negligible expansion of use.
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment A: Contract with BKF Engineers; C25191013
APPROVED BY:
Philip Kamhi, Chief Transportation Official