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City Council
Staff Report
From: City Manager
Report Type: CONSENT CALENDAR
Lead Department: Transportation
Meeting Date: April 21, 2025
Report #:2502-4130
TITLE
Approval of Contract Amendment No. 2 to Contract No. C23185922 with Kittelson & Associates, INC. to Extend Term for an Additional Year of Service Through June 30, 2026 for professional consultant services for the City's Bicycle and Pedestrian Transportation Plan Update; CEQA status - exempt under- California Senate Bill 922 (2022), codified as Public Resources Code section 21080.20.
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends that City Council approve and authorize the City Manager or their designee to execute Amendment No. 2 to Contract No. C23185922 with Kittelson & Associates, Inc. to extend the contract term by one year through June 30, 2026 for professional consultant services for the City's Bicycle and Pedestrian Transportation Plan Update, there is no change in the not-to-exceed amount of $333,945.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The City of Palo Alto is currently updating its 2012 Bicycle and Pedestrian Transportation Plan (BPTP). The intent of the BPTP Update is to seek robust community feedback; reevaluate implementation progress from previous plans to adjust recommendations for new policies, facilities, and programs; and to determine appropriate criteria and metrics to prioritize recommendations and network routes. Kittelson & Associates INC. (Kittelson) was selected to assist staff with consultant services at a cost not exceeding $333,945. The City’s Office of Transportation’s contract with Kittelson is set to expire on June 30, 2025. Extending the date by one year provides the City and Project Team with additional time to finish the project and compile the main deliverables: the Draft Plan and Final Plan, due in fall 2025. The BPTP Update will introduce a revised bicycle network, leverage existing planning foundations, address changes in context and needs since 2012, and integrate new ideas and innovations.
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BACKGROUND
The City’s existing 2012 BPTP is an important planning, policy, and implementation document that supports efforts to improve the safety and attractiveness of walking, biking, and rolling as a means of transportation and recreation. The intent of the BPTP Update is to seek robust community feedback; reevaluate implementation progress from previous plans to adjust recommendations for new policies, facilities, and programs; and to determine appropriate criteria and metrics to prioritize recommendations and network routes. The BPTP Update will introduce a revised bicycle network, leverage existing planning foundations, address changes in context and needs since 2012, and integrate new ideas and innovations. The BPTP Update Draft Plan is anticipated for fall 2025.
At the May 17, 2021 meeting, the City Council adopted a resolution supporting the City’s grant application for the State Transportation Development Act (TDA) Article 3 Funds for the BPTP Update project1, and on September 2021, the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) approved of the allocation of Transportation Development Act Article 3 (TDA3)2 funds to the City of Palo Alto in the amount of $334,852 for the purposes of updating the Bicycle and Pedestrian Transportation Plan.
On June 19, 2023, the City Council approved a professional services contract with Kittelson & Associates, Inc. with subconsultant Mobycon, to prepare this BPTP Update.3 On January 22, 2024, the City Council received an Informational Report introducing the project effort, the schedule and project objectives, and the baseline conditions.4 On April 29, 2024, the City Council reviewed and discussed the vision statement, objectives, and provided feedback on the existing conditions technical analysis.5 The existing conditions technical analysis included information on the local Bicycle Level of Traffic Stress (LTS), safety and collisions, major barriers, e-bike and shared micromobility, and a bike parking inventory.6 Additionally, to understand community needs and concerns, the project team hosted a series of engagement activities in spring 2024, including a bicycle network development workshop, a community downtown walking tour, a community bike ride, pop-ups at neighborhood events, 1 Palo Alto City Council Meeting, May 17, 2021. Item 6, Action Minutes:
https://cityofpaloalto.primegov.com/Public/CompiledDocument?meetingTemplateId=3426&compileOutputType=1 2 https://mtc.ca.gov/funding/regional-funding/tda-sta/bicycle-pedestrian-funds-tda-3 3 Palo Alto City Council Meeting, June 19, 2023. Consent Calendar: Approval of Professional Services Contract with Kittelson & Associates for a Not-to-Exceed Amount of $333,945 for the Bicycle and Pedestrian Transportation Plan Update. CEQA Status: Exempt under Public Resources Code Section 21080.20. https://cityofpaloalto.primegov.com/Public/CompiledDocument?meetingTemplateId=1172&compileOutputType=1 4 Palo Alto City Council Meeting, January 22, 2024. Informational Report: Bicycle and Pedestrian Transportation Plan (BPTP) Update: an active transportation plan--Introduction & Overview, Community Engagement, Context & Baseline Conditions, and Next Steps. https://cityofpaloalto.primegov.com/Public/CompiledDocument?meetingTemplateId=13335&compileOutputType=1 5 Palo Alto City Council Meeting, April 29, 2024. Study Session: Bicycle and Pedestrian Transportation Plan (BPTP) Update: Review and discuss the vision statement, objectives, performance measures, and share and obtain feedback on the existing conditions technical analysis. https://cityofpaloalto.primegov.com/Public/CompiledDocument?meetingTemplateId=15058&compileOutputType=1 6 City of Palo Alto, BPTP Update Existing Conditions Technical Analysis: https://www.cityofpaloalto.org/Departments/Transportation/Bicycling- Walking/bikepedplan/BPTP-Update-Existing-Conditions-Analysis 6 4
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and a second series of committee and working group meetings. See the April 29, 2024 City Council Staff Report for details on the spring 2024 engagement activities.7 In early 2025, the Project Team launched phase 3, Project Recommendations, and initiated another series of public engagement activities to share the recommendations. This includes meetings with the Pedestrian and Bicycle Advisory Committee (PABAC), the Planning and Transportation Commission (PTC), the Parks and Recreation Commission (PRC), a community workshop, an online interactive map, tabling and street-level engagement, and several focus group meetings. The project team is seeking feedback through April 30, 2025, on the proposed updated bicycle network and bicycle facilities, the projects, programs, policy recommendations, and the pedestrian district guidelines and pedestrian improvements. A City Council meeting to present and get feedback on the project recommendations is anticipated for June 2025 before the City Council’s summer recess.
ANALYSIS
The City Office of Transportation’s contract with Kittelson is set to expire on June 30, 2025.
Extending the date by one year provides the City and Project Team with additional time to finish the project and put together the main deliverables: the Draft Plan and Final Plan, due out in fall 2025. The Project Team has been diligently working on the BPTP Update process, starting with project kick-off in late 2023 through the development of the project vision and objectives, and the existing conditions analysis in 2024 to project recommendations in early 2025. A Draft Plan is on track for public review in the fall of 2025. The amendment will align the project schedule so that public engagement does not occur in the summer and will provide additional time for the Project Team to incorporate public comment into the Plan in the summer of 2025, allowing for adoption of the Final Plan by the City Council by the end of 2025.
FISCAL/RESOURCE IMPACT
This Contract Amendment No. 2 extends the term of the contract with Kittelson for one additional year through June 30, 2026, and maintains the current contract cost. The City is eligible to cover project expenditures under MTC’s TDA Article 3 program and has requested and received $334,852 in funding for the study. City staff anticipates that all eligible costs incurred will be reimbursed through the TDA Article 3 payment reimbursement process and have been billing MTC and receiving reimbursements on a quarterly basis. This funding is budgeted in the FY 2025 Adopted Capital Budget in the Bicycle and Pedestrian Transportation Plan Implementation Project (PL-04010), and no additional budgetary action is required.
7 Palo Alto City Council Special Meeting April 29, 2024. Study Session: Bicycle and Pedestrian Transportation Plan (BPTP) Update: Review and discuss the vision statement, objectives, performance measures, and share and obtain feedback on the existing conditions technical analysis. https://cityofpaloalto.primegov.com/api/compilemeetingattachmenthistory/historyattachment/?historyId=fcfab491-1dae-4afd-a309- be952790121e
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STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT
Phase 3 Community Engagement Activities
The current phase, Phase 3 (Present Recommended Network, Facilities, Programs & Policies) engagement activities are planned to include a third series of committee and working group meetings, online & street-level engagement, and a community workshop. •Project website and interactive map. The project website can be accessed at:
https://www.cityofpaloalto.org/bikepedplan. The website will continue to be updated with relevant material and information. An interactive map is hosted on the website where the community can provide the feedback on the proposed bicycle network and projects.
•Committee and Working Group Meetings. The project team will engage the following committees and working groups at during Phase 3:
oPedestrian and Bicycle Advisory Committee (February 4, 2025) oCity/School Transportation Safety Representatives focus group: February 2025 oPlanning and Transportation Commission (February 26, 2025) oParks and Recreation Commission (March 25, 2025)
oCity Council (June 2025)
oInternal Staff Working Group (March 2025)
•Community Workshop. The project team hosted a joint Transportation Planning community workshop on April 2, 2025.
•Street Level Engagement: The project team will lead and participate in street level engagement activities during Phase 3, such as tabling at local Farmer’s Markets.
Next Steps
Following public, committee, commission, working group, and City Council review and input on the proposed draft bicycle network and facilities, Pedestrian District Guidelines, Program and Policy Recommendations, and the project prioritization framework, the project team will assess the feedback received and identify the network and priority projects, programs, and policies to advance into the Draft BPTP Update Plan. The Draft Plan is anticipated for fall 2025.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
California Senate Bill 922 (2022), codified as Public Resources Code section 21080.20, exempts active transportation plans, such as bicycle transportation plans like the BPTP Update from environmental review under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment A: Kittelson & Associates, Contract C23185922 Amendment 2 APPROVED BY:
Lily Lim-Tsao, Interim Chief Transportation Official