Title
Consider/Discuss/Act on a Resolution Authorizing the City Manager to Execute a Contract with Fehr & Peers for Professional Engineering Services to Develop the Comprehensive Safety Action Plan (ST2463)
Summary
COUNCIL GOAL: Direction for Strategic and Economic Growth
(2B: Continuously provide a high level of customer service to our citizens)
MEETING DATE: November 19, 2024
DEPARTMENT: Development Services / Engineering
CONTACT: Gary Graham, PE, PTOE, Director of Engineering
Pamela Alummoottil, PE, PTOE, Traffic Engineer
RECOMMENDED CITY COUNCIL ACTION:
• Approval of Resolution
ITEM SUMMARY:
• This Resolution authorizes the City Manager to execute a contract with Fehr & Peers for professional engineering services to develop the Comprehensive Safety Action Plan (ST2463) for a total contract amount not-to-exceed $299,850.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
• In December 2023, City Council approved resolution no. 2023-12-163 authorizing the City Manager to accept a federal grant to develop a Comprehensive Safety Action Plan (CSAP) through the Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) Grant Program.
• The FY25 Capital Improvement Plan budget includes funding under CIP Project ST2463 to develop the CSAP, which includes $240,000 in federal funds and $60,000 in local match funds.
• The purpose of the SS4A grant is to provide funds to help communities improve roadway safety by significantly reducing or eliminating roadway fatalities and serious injuries through the development of a CSAP. The action plan will focus on all users, including pedestrians, bicyclists, public transportation users, motorists, and micromobility users like scooters or electric bikes, and commercial vehicle operators. A qualifying action plan is required to request additional grant funding for implementation of projects and strategies identified in the action plan.
• Fehr & Peers submitted a response to 24-14RFQ Category IV - Traffic Studies/Services. They were one of six firms shortlisted by City Council on March 5, 2024. Fehr & Peers was selected from this group based on qualifications to conduct the CSAP.
• Fehr & Peers submitted a proposal for $299,850 for professional engineering services to develop a CSAP, that includes the following tasks:
o Task 1 - Project Administration & Management
§ Create a City Vision Zero policy statement by establishing a Vision Zero Task Force that will include city leadership, staff, residents, business owners and other stakeholders to receive buy-in from decision-makers for a successful Vision Zero program.
§ A Vision Zero policy workshop will be held with the task force to understand the fundamentals of Vision Zero and the Safe System Approach to help the city develop a realistic path for eliminating roadway fatalities and serious injuries.
o Task 2 - Safety Data Analysis
§ Establish a Safe System baseline by analyzing current safety data and applying a proactive, risk-based, data-driven analysis consistent with FHWA (Federal Highway Administration) Safe System Approach to identify emphasis areas, priority locations, countermeasures and other safety strategies.
§ An online interactive Safety Dashboard will be published to display crash data and allow the end user to explore and summarize the data by geographic boundaries, census tracts, mode and other characteristics.
o Task 3 - Benchmarking
§ Review the city’s current approach to safety and opportunities for enhancements to better align with best practices. This will be done by conducting a workshop with city staff across all departments to ensure that everyone understands Vision Zero and the Safe System Approach. After establishing this understanding, the team will evaluate the city’s current policies, guidelines and standards for their alignment with the Safe System Approach and safety-oriented state policies.
o Task 4 - Engagement
§ Employ diverse strategies to meaningfully engage stakeholders and the community in the development of the CSAP, which will focus on three groups (internal city departments, external key stakeholders like public health, TxDOT, Main Street, HOA representatives etc. and the public).
o Task 5 - Project Identification
§ Develop a countermeasure toolbox with engineering and non-engineering safety strategies. It will also include developing grant-ready conceptual plans for top locations to address key safety challenges through feasible improvements.
o Task 6 - Comprehensive Safety Action Plan
§ Develop a final CSAP that meets TxDOT and USDOT funding requirements, incorporates industry best practices, and reflects inputs from McKinney community and stakeholders involved in the project.
§ Establish metrics that can be routinely analyzed to provide insight into the City’s progress towards eliminating roadway fatalities and serious injuries that can be reported on the project website.
• Based on the USDOT Grant Agreement, the CSAP is required to be completed and adopted by City Council in the Summer of 2026. However, Fehr & Peers project schedule anticipates the final plan will be ready for adoption by Fall 2025, which will allow the city to apply for the SS4A implementation funding, assuming a NOFO (Notice of Funding Opportunity) in Spring of 2026.
FINANCIAL SUMMARY:
• This Resolution authorizes a professional services contract with Fehr & Peers, for a total contract amount not-to-exceed $299,850.
• With approval of this item, $150 will remain in project ST2463.
BOARD OR COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION:
• N/A