Public Works Agency
www.santa-ana.org/pw
Item #
City of Santa Ana
20 Civic Center Plaza, Santa Ana, CA 92701
Staff Report
May 20, 2025
TOPIC: Agreement for First Street Multimodal Boulevard Study
AGENDA TITLE
Agreement with HDR Engineering, Inc. to Conduct the First Street Multimodal Boulevard Study (Non-General Fund)
RECOMMENDED ACTION
Authorize the City Manager to execute an agreement with HDR Engineering Inc. to provide traffic engineering and transportation planning services for the First Street Multimodal Boulevard Study in the amount of $3,870,000, for a term beginning May 21, 2025 and ending on May 20, 2027, with the option for two, one-year extensions (Agreement No. A-2025-XXX).
GOVERNMENT CODE §84308 APPLIES: Yes
DISCUSSION
The Public Works Agency’s (PWA) Engineering Division is responsible for the administration and oversight of all Capital Improvement Projects in the City. Per the approved General Plan, First Street between Bristol Street and Tustin Avenue is envisioned as a multimodal corridor through a series of safety and infrastructure improvements and enhancements. These improvements will benefit all users of First Street, including travelers who utilize Orange County Transportation Authority’s (OCTA) Route 64, identified as one of the highest ridership bus routes in Orange County.
On April 12, 2023, OCTA submitted an application to the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) for Regional Early Action Planning (REAP 2.0) grant funding on behalf of the City to accelerate progress towards state housing goals and climate commitments through strengthened partnerships between the state, its regions, and local entities. REAP 2.0 seeks to accelerate infill housing developments, reduce vehicle miles traveled, increase housing supply at all affordability levels, affirmatively further fair housing, and facilitate the implementation of adopted regional and local plans to achieve these goals.
On July 6, 2023, SCAG awarded OCTA REAP 2.0 grant funds for planning, outreach, transit, active transportation, and transit signal priority projects, which included funding for the First Street Boulevard Multimodal Study. The study will examine options to
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enhance transportation along First Street by assessing the feasibility of various infrastructure improvements through extensive community outreach, field data analyses, modeling, design, and environmental clearance with the intent of identifying and designing a locally preferred alternative. The study will evaluate multimodal improvements that promote the safety and transportation goals included in the City’s recently adopted General Plan Mobility Element Update.
On February 18, 2025, City Council recognized the REAP funding in the amount of $4,300,000 into the FY 2024-25 CIP and approved cooperative agreement between the OCTA and the City of Santa Ana (Cooperative Agreement No. C-4-2053). This funding will be utilized to cover the entirety of the recommended consultant agreement as well as city staff time spent on the project, resulting in a net savings to the General Fund.
Request for Proposals (RFP) No. 25-029 was issued on February 25, 2025 on the City’s online bid management and publication system, PlanetBids. A summary of vendor participation and results is as follows:
832 Vendors notified
7 Santa Ana vendors notified
60 Vendors downloaded the RFP packet
5 Proposals received
1 Proposal received from Santa Ana vendor
Proposals were solicited, opened on March 25, 2025, and evaluated. A total of five consultants submitted proposals. All proposals were reviewed by an evaluation committee consisting of City of Santa Ana and OCTA staff and were rated based on experience, qualifications, project understanding, schedule, past performance, and references. The top three rated proposals were invited to interview on April 15, 2025.
Based on the scoring criteria outlined in the RFP, the following summarizes the ranking of all responding firms:
Firm City Ranking
HDR Engineering, Inc. Irvine, CA 1
Mark Thomas Irvine, CA 2
Arcadis U.S., Inc. Irvine CA 3
Kimley-Horn Orange, CA 4
AYCE Santa Ana, CA 5
Based on the proposal and interview evaluations, staff recommends awarding the agreement to HDR Engineering, Inc. (HDR) to conduct the First Street Multimodal Boulevard Study (Exhibit 1). HDR Engineering, Inc. is a global architecture, engineering, environmental, and construction firm with over 150 transportation engineering and planning staff in Southern California. In accordance with the RFP criteria, HDR demonstrated a depth of experience working with similar-sized California public agencies on multimodal corridor studies and design projects and put together a very First Street Multimodal Boulevard Study
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strong team of professionals well-versed in a multitude of disciplines required by the project. HDR demonstrated the ability to allocate the necessary resources to complete the project within a 12-month compressed timeline allotted by the grant funding source.
Furthermore, HDR brings over 30 years of experience as having staff with registered Professional Engineers and Traffic Engineers delivering over 20 multimodal projects, most of which were grant funded and located along commercial corridors similar to First Street. The HDR team was determined to be the most qualified to help the City transform and revitalize the First Street corridor in alignment with the goals and objectives set forth in the approved General Plan Mobility Element and is demonstrated in their proposal (Exhibit 2). The HDR team incorporates four subconsultants with substantial experience working with the City of Santa, OCTA, and other local agencies in Orange County. The subconsultants and respective roles include:
•Cityworks Design: San Marino, CA – Multimodal Concept Development •Costin Public Outreach Group: Huntington Beach, CA – Stakeholder/Community Outreach/Engagement
•Estolano Advisors: Los Angeles, CA – Transit-Orientated Development/Land Use Planning/Equity
•GUIDA: Irvine, CA – Surveying/Mapping
As part of the study’s outreach efforts, staff will work closely with City Council through various meetings to ensure the recommendations are in alignment with Council’s goals and vision for the corridor. Staff will return to Council to seek approval of the Recommended Action (Locally Preferred Alternative) in December of 2025, prior to advancing to the final engineering plan production phase. Completion of this study will position the City to seek grant funds to potentially carry out and construct the infrastructure improvements in future years as approved by City Council.
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
There is no environmental impact associated with this action.
FISCAL IMPACT
Funds are available for expenditure in Fiscal Year 2024-2025. Any remaining balances not expended at the end of the fiscal year will be presented to City Council for approval to carry forward to Fiscal Year 2025-2026.
Fiscal
Year
Accounting Unit-
Account No.
Fund
Description
Accounting Unit,
Account Description Amount
2024-
25 14717613-66220
(25-6042)
Street Safety
Programs
Regional Early Action
Planning Grant,
Improvements Other
Than Buildings
$3,870,000
Total $3,870,000
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EXHIBIT(S)
1. Agreement with HDR Engineering, Inc.
2. HDR Engineering, Inc. Proposal
Submitted By: Nabil Saba, P.E., Executive Director – Public Works Agency Approved By: Alvaro Nuñez, City Manager