Title
Phoenix Bus Rapid Transit Program Planning Support Services Contract Amendment (Ordinance S-48498)
Description
Request to authorize the City Manager, or his designee, to execute an amendment to the Phoenix Bus Rapid Transit Program, Transportation Planning Support Services Package B Contract 149145, with AECOM to extend the term of the contract for 24 months and provide further project management, public outreach and stakeholder engagement, alternative analysis, design concepts and 15 percent design plans for the initial Bus Rapid Transit corridor of 35th Avenue/Van Buren Street. Further request to authorize the City Controller to disburse all funds related to this item. The total cost of the additional expenditures in this agreement will not exceed $4.2 million.
Report
Summary
In 2015, Phoenix voters approved Proposition 104, creating the 35-year street and transit plan known as Transportation 2050 (T2050), which identified Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) as a key component to continue expanding the City’s high-capacity transit network. BRT is a high-capacity bus service that focuses on improved speed, reliability, convenience, and the overall transit experience. There are common recurring elements found in successful BRT systems, such as advanced fare collection, enhanced stations, dedicated lanes, custom buses, transit-spot improvements and unique branding.
In 2019, Phoenix BRT Program staff were tasked by the Citizens Transportation Commission (CTC) and City Council with reevaluating the BRT corridors as originally outlined in the T2050 plan. The reevaluation was sought as the result of the passage of time since development of the T2050 plan, and Phoenix has since experienced significant changes in residential and commercial developments, population growth, and density, in addition to regional efforts to identify additional BRT corridors that may travel through Phoenix.
Based on the transit technical analysis and extensive community-education and engagement efforts, the initial BRT corridor of 35th Avenue/Van Buren Street was approved by the CTC in May 2021, the Transportation, Infrastructure and Planning Subcommittee in September 2021 and the City Council in October 2021.
The overall structure of the BRT Program included two contract packages to provide transportation planning services. Package A, with HDR Engineering, Inc., includes initial transit planning, capital system development, and community education and engagement services which were utilized for the initial planning and reevaluation of Phoenix's BRT corridors. Package B, with AECOM, includes preparation of corridor alternatives for evaluation and outreach, and 15 percent design plans for the designated corridor.
With unanimous approval of the initial corridor, the BRT program identified a continued need of AECOM, because of their national BRT planning experience and insight, to provide design support of the 35th Avenue/Van Buren BRT corridor. This includes providing detailed corridor planning and conceptual design alternatives for the Package A team and a support function for community outreach and stakeholder engagement.
The scope of work for AECOM’s services include:
- Project management;
- Public outreach and stakeholder engagement;
- Right-of-way analysis;
- Conceptual alternatives analysis and screening;
- Station and platform concepts;
- Traffic analysis;
- Multimodal safety analysis;
- Development of basis for design and design criteria; and
- Preparation of 15 percent design plans.
Contract Term
This amendment will extend the end date for the Package B contract with AECOM from Sept. 6, 2022 to Sept. 6, 2024.
Financial Impact
The initial authorization for the Transportation Planning Support Services Package B Contract 149145 was authorized for an expenditure not-to-exceed $150,000 for initial planning. This amendment will increase the authorization for the contract by an additional $4.2 million, for a new total not-to-exceed contract value of $4.35 million.
Funding for this amendment is available in the Public Transit Department's T2050 fund.
Concurrence/Previous Council Action
The Citizen's Transportation Commission recommended for approval:
- The award on May 31, 2018, by a vote of 13-0;
- The initial BRT corridor of 35th Avenue/Van Buren Street on May 27, 2021, by a vote of 10-0; and
- This item on Feb. 16, 2022, by a vote of 11-1.
The Aviation and Transportation Subcommittee recommended approval:
- To enter into agreement with Package A and B in support of the BRT program on Sept. 25, 2018, by a vote of 3-0.
The Transportation, Infrastructure and Planning Subcommittee recommended for approval:
- The initial BRT corridor of 35th Avenue/Van Buren Street on Sept. 15, 2021, by a vote of 4-0.
The City Council approved:
- Issuance of a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) to provide services for planning and preliminary engineering for the BRT program with a stipulation that the planning RFQ included an assessment of the criteria used for the initial identification of the BRT corridors on Oct. 4, 2017;
- Phoenix Bus Rapid Transit Program Planning Support Services Contract 149145; and
- The initial BRT corridor of 35th Avenue/Van Buren Street on Oct. 6, 2021.
Department
Responsible Department
This item is submitted by Deputy City Manager Mario Paniagua and the Public Transit Department.