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CITY OF SAN MATEO
Agenda Report
City Hall
330 W. 20th Avenue
San Mateo CA 94403
www.cityofsanmateo.org
Agenda Number: 11 Section Name: {{section.name}} Account Number: 26-4662 File ID: {{item.tracking_number}} TO: City Council
FROM: Alex Khojikian, City Manager
PREPARED BY: Public Works Department
MEETING DATE: January 13, 2025
SUBJECT:
Third Avenue and South Norfolk Street Intersection Modification Project — Appropriation, Budget Transfers, and Agreement
RECOMMENDATION:
Adopt a Resolution authorizing an appropriation of $200,000 from the City’s Measure A funds, and budget transfers of $65,000 from the Traffic Signal Video Detection Replacement Project and $40,000 from the Bike San Mateo Program Project to the Community Development Block Grant Projects project budget in the Capital Project Fund; approve an agreement with Liffey Electric, Inc. for construction of the 3rd Avenue and South Norfolk Street Intersection Modification Project in the amount of $1,298,745; establish a contingency reserve in the amount of $200,000; and authorize the Public Works Director to execute the agreement in substantially the form presented and issue change orders as allowed by the contract documents and within the contingency amount.
BACKGROUND:
The City receives federal funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program and allocates the funds based on community priorities. A portion of the funds is available for infrastructure improvements, including bicycle and pedestrian projects, in the CDBG Target Areas of the City.
Improvements at the 3rd Avenue and Norfolk intersection were identified for the 2023-2025 CDBG program. The 3rd Avenue and South Norfolk Street Intersection Modification Project (Project) will improve bicycle and pedestrian safety and access around the intersection in the Shoreview and North Shoreview neighborhoods.
The Project advances several City objectives. A key part of the Project is establishing a bicycle connection between the pathway along the 3rd Avenue overcrossing and the bike path south of the 3rd Avenue and South Norfolk Street intersection that runs adjacent to San Mateo Creek. This connection was identified as a medium-high priority in the adopted 2020 Bicycle Master Plan (Plan). It includes the construction of an off-street, two-way bicycle facility as well as dedicated bicycle signals to facilitate safe passage of bicyclists through the area. The new improvements also separate vehicle, pedestrian, and bicyclist movements to minimize potential conflicts between different transportation modes in high-risk zones. In addition, modifications to traffic signal operations will optimize traffic flow through the intersection and improve the overall intersection level of service.
Public Outreach
Public outreach for the Project was broken up into two phases. The first phase was focused on gathering feedback from the community to understand their top concerns. The second phase of the of the outreach was focused on educating the community on the design and Project. Staff also hosted a community meeting on January 7, 2025, to present the final design and answer questions from members of the North Shoreview and Shoreview neighborhoods.
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•Phase I: On September 2023, a preliminary survey was released to the community to gather feedback about existing usage and top safety concerns at the Project intersection. Postage-paid paper surveys in both English and Spanish were mailed to approximately 650 residents within 1000 feet of the intersection. Additionally, an online survey with the same questions was noticed via flyers to neighborhood schools, emails to bike advocacy groups, NextDoor posts to Shoreview and North Shoreview neighborhoods, sidewalk stickers with QR code, posters at the intersection/approaches, and inclusion in the City e-newsletter. 171 total responses were recorded from both paper and online surveys, and the Project website had visits from 671 unique users. •Phase II: In October 2024, staff updated the community on Project status and provided more information about the proposed Project improvements. The City’s Project webpage was updated to include a recorded video presentation (with Spanish auto-captions available) discussing the Project background, findings from the preliminary survey, a plan showing the proposed safety improvements, and animation demonstrating how the traffic signal would operate with the proposed changes. The video can be accessed by visiting the Project website at: https://www.cityofsanmateo.org/4744/3rd-Ave-and-Norfolk-St-Intersection-Safe. Noticing was accomplished via mailed flyers in English and Spanish to approximately 1900 residents within ½ mile of the intersection east of HWY 101, flyers to neighborhood schools, emails to bike advocacy groups, NextDoor posts to Shoreview and North Shoreview neighborhoods, emails to ADA advocacy groups, sidewalk stickers with QR code, and posters at the intersection/approaches. In addition, staff met in person with residents and businesses fronting the Project area that would be directly impacted by proposed improvements. The Project website was visited by an additional 1,200 unique users and the recorded presentation had 269 views as of January 7, 2025. •Lastly, staff hosted a community meeting at the Shoreview Recreation Center on January 7, 2025, which was attended by approximately 60 community members primarily from the Shoreview and North Shoreview neighborhoods. Staff presented additional, more-detailed information about the project, including the project impetus, outreach efforts, and a discussion about the design and analysis process that led to the preferred design and signal operations alternative. Resident questions and feedback during the meeting were largely focused on concerns about the southbound and eastbound “No Right on Red” implementations, and their potential impact on congestion. Other concerns were about the number of bicyclist and pedestrians using the intersection compared to the number of vehicles, as well as cut-through traffic in both the North Shoreview and Shoreview neighborhoods. Many attendees indicated support for the bicycle and pedestrian safety improvements that the project will implement.
•To respond to community feedback received on January 7, 2025, staff’s presentation to Council will include information about the proposed intersection operations, including the impact on right-turning vehicles, bicycle and pedestrian volumes, and how the intersection will be monitored after completion of the project as well as how the intersection operations or signage can be adapted in the future if necessary.
Bid Results
The Engineer's Estimate for the Project is $1,250,000. The Project was advertised October 17, 2024, and a total of ten (10) bids were received and opened on November 7, 2024. The bids received are listed below in order of increasing bid amount.
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BIDDER RANK CONTRACTOR BID AMOUNT
1 (non-responsive) BuildCorp Inc. $1,137,500.00
2 Liffey Electric, Inc. $1,298,745.00
3 Redgwick Construction $1,395,825.00
4 Sposeto Engineering $1,422,727.75
5 Interstate Grading & Paving $1,516,811.25
6 O’Grady Paving $1,591,380.00
7 Joseph J. Albanese $1,595,870.00
8 St. Francis Electric $1,672,237.00
9 Golden Bay Construction $1,680,236.00
10 WR Forde Associates, Inc. $1,734,105.00
Staff reviewed the bids and found the first apparent low bidder to be nonresponsive. Staff determined that Liffey Electric, Inc., the second lowest bidder, is the lowest responsive and responsible bidder. Therefore, staff recommends for Council to award the construction agreement to Liffey Electric, Inc. Staff also recommends a $200,000 contingency be established to address unknown challenges due to the complexity of the traffic signal and civil improvement components of the Project.
BUDGET IMPACT:
There are sufficient funds available in the CDBG Projects (No. 461214) and E 3rd/Norfolk Intersection Reconstruction Project (No. 466608) to award this agreement in the amount of $1,298,745. However, the project requires an additional $300,000 in funding to meet the proposed contingency reserve, construction management fees, and engineering services during construction.
To meet the funding needs of the total estimated project cost, staff has identified a combined total of $105,000 of available Measure A funding from the Traffic Signal Video Detection Replacement Project (46R004) and Bike San Mateo (46R024) project budgets to be transferred to the CDBG Projects (461214) project budget. Additionally, staff requests an appropriation in the amount of $200,000 from the City’s Measure A funds be added to the CDBG Projects (461214) project to cover the remaining estimated funding need. A breakdown of additional funding required to meet this budget gap is presented below.
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ENVIRONMENTAL DETERMINATION:
This Project is categorically exempt from CEQA as an “existing facility,” because it consists of the operation, repair, maintenance, permitting, leasing, licensing, or minor alteration of existing public or private structures, facilities, mechanical equipment, or topographical features, involving negligible or no expansion of existing or former use. (CEQA Guidelines Section 15301.)
NOTICE PROVIDED
All meeting noticing requirements were met.
ATTACHMENTS
Att 1 – Proposed Resolution
Att 2 – Agreement
STAFF CONTACT
Kenny Tanaka, Assistant Engineer
[email protected]
650 522 7318