Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutRESPONSE - RFP - P1000 VMT BEST PRACTICESSubmitted to: City of Fort Collins In Response to: Request for Proposal P1000 Submitted by: The Brendle Group, Inc. and Victoria Transport Policy Institute September 30, 2005 VMT Best Practices Review City of Seattle Transportation Program Contact Name: Jamae Hoffman, Manager Phone: (2o6)684-8674 Email: Jemae.Hoffman@ci.seattle.wa.us Representative Projects: CONGESTION MANAGEMENT BEST PRACTICES Provided technical support for the Washington DC Downtown Congestion Management Task Force. Included research and analysis to identify suitable congestion management strategies for implementation in a large city central business district. (Prime contractor: Volpe Transportation Center [www.volpe.dot.gov], for Washington DC [www.dc.gov]. Time Period: April — Oct. 2004). PUBLIC TRANSIT ECONOMIC EVALUATION Produced a report identifying the net benefits of potential public transit improvements in Colorado Springs. Also identified examples of successful transit projects in similar cities, described possible ways of increasing transit benefits, and provided responses to common criticisms of public transit investments. (Client: City of Colorado Springs [www.springsgov.com]. Time period: January — March 2004). RESORT COMMUNITY TRANSPORTATION MANAGEMENT PLAN Provided guidance on incorporating transportation demand management strategies into the Whistler area transportation plan. Identified a variety of potential transportation demand management strategies, predicted their impacts on travel volumes and traffic congestion, and developed a framework for evaluating their full benefits and costs. (Prime contractor: Delcan [www.Delcan.com], for Whistler [www.whistler.ca]. Time Period: Sept. 2003 — Feb. 2004). PARKING TAX POLICY EVALUATION Helped evaluate the feasibility and impacts of various parking tax options for funding transportation in the Greater Vancouver region. Included research on various parking taxes, and analysis of their impacts on consumers, businesses, parking supply, parking price, travel patterns and land use. (Prime contractor: InterVISTAS [www.intervistas.com], for TransLink [www.translink.bc.ca] regional transportation authority. Time Period: November 2003). GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSION REDUCTION PLAN Provided guidance on transportation emission reduction strategies for the city of Vancouver's greenhouse gas emission reduction plan. Identified a variety of potential emission reduction strategies, predicted their potential emission reductions, and developed a framework for evaluating their full benefits and costs. (Prime contractor: Sheltair Scientific [www.sheltair.com], for City of Vancouver [www.vancouver.ca]. Time Period: September -December 2003). VMT Best Practices Review KINGSTON, JAMAICA AREA SUSTAINABLE TRANSPORTATION AND LAND USE PLAN Helped develop a sustainable transportation and land use strategic plan for the Kingston, Jamaica region. Included performing an extensive literature review of developing country sustainable transportation and land use strategies, reviewing current travel and land use conditions and policies in the Kingston region, consulting with numerous stakeholders in the region, and providing specific policy and planning recommendations. (ENACT Project Sustainable Development Plan, National Environment and Planning Agency [www.nepa.gov.jmj and Canadian International Development Agency [www.acdi-cida.gc.ca]. Time Period: July -August 2003). TRANSIT STATION PARKING STRATEGY Developed parking policies and planning practices for implementation at new rail transit stations in Southern California. This included developing an evaluation process to prioritize parking improvements, creating a menu of potential parking management strategies, and helping to establish a planning process to determine which strategies are suitable for implementation at each site. (Project Manager: Robin Blair. Client: Los Angeles Metropolitan Transportation Authority [www.mta.net]. Time Period: January -July 2003). FEDERAL POLICIES TO SUPPORT ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION Produced a background paper that identifies ways to incorporate public health objectives into transport planning, and recommends specific federal policies to encourage more physically active transportation, to provide information for a workshop on Active Transportation involving high-level federal government officials (www.vtpi.org/act_tran.pdf). (Project Manager: Francine Godin. Client: Go For Green [www.goforgreen.ca]. Time Period: February -April 2003). WROTE MOBILITY MANAGEMENT INFORMATION RESOURCE Wrote "Mobility Management Measures" module(www.vtpi.org/gtz_module.pdf.pdf) for the Sustainable Transport Sourcebook for Developing Countries (www.sutp.org/does/sourcebook/sourcebook.aspx), a comprehensive transportation planning and management information resource for use in developing country cities. (Client: GTZ [www.gtz.de]. Time Period: April -December 2002) DEMAND MANAGEMENT EMISSION REDUCTION STRATEGY EVALUATION Identified and evaluated potential transportation demand management strategies for reducing energy consumption and pollution emissions in the Vancouver region. This included developing a model that predicts and compares the potential energy conservation and emission reduction benefits of each strategy, and identifying additional benefits, implementation costs and barriers. (Client: Environment Canada. Time Period: February 2002 to April 2003.) -10- VMT Best Practices Review EVALUATE TRANSPORTATION ENERGY CONSERVATION OPTIONS Helped identify and evaluate policy and operational programs to improve transportation sector energy efficiency, energy conservation and use of renewables suitable for implementation by the New Zealand Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority. (Project Manager: Booz-Allen & Hamilton, New Zealand. Client: TransFund New Zealand. Time Period: Nov. 2001 to March 2002.) The Brendle Group Overview: Founded in 1996, The Brendle Group, Inc. is an engineering consulting firm specializing in sustainability and sustainable business practices, including management plans, sustainable design, energy efficiency, water conservation and pollution prevention. The Brendle Group, Inc. often partners with other energy and environmental consultants, and is recognized for its ability to build interdisciplinary teams to tackle projects of any size. Located in Fort Collins, Colorado, The Brendle Group, Inc. serves customers nationwide. In 2005, The Brendle Group was honored with a Governor's Pollution Prevention Champion Award for its pioneering work developing its company sustainability management system (SMS). The SMS quantifies company impacts, including transportation impacts and neutralizes the associated climate emissions through carbon credits. Our staff participates in City TDM programs including Trip Savers, Bike to Work Day, and Drive Less Challenge. We're the first known climate neutral company in Colorado and among a small group nation wide. References: City of Fort Collins Natural Resources Department Contact Name: Lucinda Smith Phone: (970) 224-6o85 Email: Ismith@fcgov.com Related Project(s): Energy Efficiency Approaches for The City of Fort Collins Report, Climate Wise, Cities for Climate Protection Greenhouse Gas Action Plan Poudre School District Contact Name: Mike Spearnak Phone: (970)490-3413 Email: mspearna@psdschools.org Related Project(s): Sustainable Design Guidelines, including many new energy applications included in the 2005 update Representative Projects: CITY OF FORT COLLINS ACTION PLAN FOR SUSTAINABILITY, 2003-2004 Facilitated a cross -departmental team of City staff in developing the City's Sustainability Action Plan. Developed an inventory of past successes and future opportunities in sustainability. Developed a prioritization process and worked with sub -teams to develop -11- VMT Best Practices Review goals and targets around the top nine City priorities. Compiled results into the City's Action Plan for Sustainability. SUSTAINABLE SLOPES: ENVIRONMENTAL CHARTER FOR THE SKI INDUSTRY, 2001-2005 Provided contract support to the National Ski Areas Association in developing an assessment tool to measure progress related to the industry's environmental charter. The tool monitors the progress of over 76 endorsing resorts related to more than 200 best environmental practices for ski area operations, including transportation best practices. Provide annual support to NSAA compiling and analyzing results for its annual report. Compiled over 200 case studies of principles in place at ski areas nation- wide into NSAA's Green Room database. The 2005 report is available for review at: http://www.nsaa. org/nsaa/environment/sustainable_slopes/2005-sustainable-slopes- annualreport.pdf CITY OF FORT COLLINS CLIMATE WISE PROGRAM, 1999-2005 Evaluating and quantifying program results from businesses (over 25) participating in this voluntary greenhouse gas reduction program, including results from transportation initiatives. The businesses represent a range of industrial and commercial sectors, including breweries, electronics manufacturers, schools, and retail facilities. Designed web -based forms and an AcceSSTm database for tracking and quantifying greenhouse gas emission reductions from business measures, including transportation demand reduction and alternative fuel vehicle measures, as well as energy use, solid waste, etc. GREENHOUSE GAS INVENTORY AND PLANNING — CITY OF BOULDER, 2002 Provided decision -making framework and consulting support to city staff regarding greenhouse gas action plans. Worked with city staff to quantify existing and proposed greenhouse gas mitigation strategies for the city government, as well as for residential, commercial, and industrial sectors. Mitigation strategies focused on reducing methane and carbon dioxide through transportation, energy efficiency, pollution prevention, and water conservation. CITIES FOR CLIMATE PROTECTION — CITY OF FORT COLLINS, 1998 Worked with city staff to quantify existing and proposed greenhouse gas mitigation strategies within the city government, as well as within residential, commercial, and industrial sectors. Mitigation strategies focused on methane and carbon dioxide reductions through pollution prevention and energy efficiency, including transportation measures. -12- VMT Best Practices Review Executive Summary Together as a team, The Brendle Group and Victoria Transport Policy Institute (VTPI) are pleased to submit this response to the City of Fort Collins request for a "VMT Best Practices Review". We're excited to combine VTPI's international expertise in transportation policy with the Brendle Group's local presence and experience with City operations toward evaluating the City's question "How well is Fort Collins doing with respect to VMT best practices?" We believe our key strengths relevant to this request are our local presence combined with international expertise; past work for the City of Fort Collins; direct experience with this project's scope of work and our highly motivated team. To help you evaluate our response, we have summarized our key strengths for each of the RFP evaluation criterion below. The remainder of this proposal elaborates on these strengths in order of the topics listed. Evaluation Key Strengths For More Criterion Information Scope of proposal Clear understanding of project objectives and Section 1 coherent work plan for meeting objectives. Recent and demonstrated experience with transportation demand management program planning, implementation and evaluation; and best practices review. Assigned personnel Our team offers a highly capable and cost effective Section 2 mix for product delivery. We are small firms with low turnover. The same staff credited with our past projects will be providing the support for this effort. Availability and We're available to start the project at any time and Section 3 Schedule estimate completion within 12-16 weeks. Motivation The Brendle Group has been honored to work with Section 4 the City in the past and is enthusiastic to apply VTPI's expertise to our local situation. Cost Competitive rates, range of junior to senior staff for Section 5 best resource mix, and no travel or other direct expenses for The Brendle Group staff. Firm capability Both the Brendle Group and VTPI have experienced Section 6 technical staff with capability to evaluate diverse mobility management measures. - 1 - VMT Best Practices Review 1 Project Scope This project involves performing a review of best practices for strategies and programs that could be implemented by the City of Fort Collins to reduce the growth rate of vehicle miles traveled (VMT). Basis of the Study The City of Fort Collins is experiencing rapid vehicle traffic growth (exceeding population growth) which results in a variety of challenges, including traffic and parking congestion, increasing costs to expand road and parking capacity, traffic risk, and high rates of energy consumption and pollution emissions. The city has established objectives to reduce the VMT growth rate, which is called mobility management or transportation demand management (TDM). There are many possible mobility management strategies with a variety of costs and benefits. Some of these strategies have already been implemented in Fort Collins, and others are being implemented in similar cities. Objectives The objectives of the VMT Best Practices Review are to: • Recommend changes to existing policy and practice that would align the City with best practices of comparable cities; • Address the cost range and relative priority (bang for buck) of these recommendations; and • Suggest methods for evaluating performance to City Plan Policy T-9.i. Intended Results The intended results of this study are to i) give the City a relative sense of how its doing compared to other cities and z) provide realistic and cost-effective strategies moving forward in the face of shrinking budgets. Method This project will involve the following specific tasks: • Review published literature, consult with experts, and use information sources to identify best practices for mobility management policies, programs and strategies in cities such as Fort Collins. • Review existing Fort Collins policies and programs that affect vehicle travel, including planning practices, zoning codes, roadway standards, parking standards, transportation funding, the SmartTrips® program, land use policies, and management of municipal parking. These will be evaluated to determine the degree to which they are consistent with the city's mobility management objectives and with each other. • Consult with stakeholders to assess the level of understanding and support for current and additional mobility management policies, programs and strategies. Stakeholders to be selected by the City could include: local officials (particularly any officials and committees involved in this project); -2- VMT Best Practices Review • transportation and land use planning officials; • parking facility operators; • transit agency; • SmartTrips® program staff; • business organizations (Chamber of Commerce, Downtown Business Association, etc.); • social service agencies; • Colorado State University and Poudre School District officials; • large employers in Fort Collins; • developers' organization(s); and • emergency response planning representative(s). Identify suitable performance indicators that can be used to evaluate the city's mobility management efforts. Performance indicators will be selected to reflect economic, social and environmental objectives, be feasible to apply and understandable to users. Prepare a report which evaluates current policies and programs, recommends changes to improve their consistency with the city's mobility management objectives and with each other, and recommends suitable performance indicators for program evaluation. • Give a presentation on the results of this study and its recommendations. 2 Assigned Personnel The following table summarizes the personnel that would be assigned to this project and their proposed role. A more detailed biographical summary for each person is provided following the table. As an overview, our team has worked closely with the City on air and transportation policy and practices mainly through our technical support to the City's local action plan for climate protection (1999), Sustainability Action Plan (2004) and external outreach program, Climate Wise (2000-ongoing). In these capacities, we've convened a number of stakeholder meetings and have produced high quality written reports and presentations to staff and citizen boards. Likewise, our teammate VTPI is experienced with written reports and presentations that reflect input from multi -stakeholder processes, including a 2004 transit study for the City of Colorado Springs. In addition to junior staff for compiling data at lower cost, our team includes a technical editor, word processor and graphic designer for ensuring the highest professional quality of our project deliverables. Together with our mix of senior and junior staff, our local experience and international expertise we believe we've assigned a team that is cost effective and highly capable of delivering the best possible VMT review to the City. -3- VMT Best Practices Review Name Project Role Todd Litman - VTPI Technical Lead Judy Dorsey — TBG Project Manager Julie Sieving - TBG Report development Carissa Dragos - TBG Intern support Todd Litman. Founder and Executive Director - VTPI Project Role: Project Technical Lead Biographical Sketch: Years of experience in industry: 21 Education: Masters of Environmental Studies, Evergreen State College, 1995; B.A. with emphasis on Urban Planning, Evergreen State College,1983 Affiliations: • Institute of Transportation Engineers (www.ite.org), Institute Member (member of the Planning Council) and Vancouver Island Section (Executive Committee Secretary). • Transportation Research Board, National Academy of Sciences (www.trb.org). Appointed to: • Economics Committee • Social and Economic Factors in Transportation Committee • Subcommittee on Sustainable Transportation Indicators (Chair) • Task Force on Transportation and Sustainability. • Editorial Advisory Board, Transportation Research A (www.elsevier.com/locate/tra), since i999• Most recent and relevant work experience/projects: • Provided technical support for the Washington DC Downtown Congestion Management Task Force. Included research and analysis to identify suitable congestion management strategies for implementation in a large city central business district. • Provided guidance on incorporating transportation demand management strategies into the Whistler area transportation plan. Identified a variety of potential transportation demand management strategies, predicted their impacts on travel volumes and traffic congestion, and developed a framework for evaluating their full benefits and costs. • Provided guidance on transportation emission reduction strategies for the city of Vancouver's greenhouse gas emission reduction plan. Identified a variety of potential emission reduction strategies, predicted their potential emission reductions, and developed a framework for evaluating their full benefits and costs. -4- VMT Best Practices Review 0 Produced a background paper that identifies ways to incorporate public health objectives into transport planning, and recommends specific federal policies to encourage more physically active transportation, to provide information for a workshop on Active Transportation involving high-level federal government officials Relevant skills: ? 0 Encyclopedic knowledge of transportation demand management programs and evaluation practices. 0 Knowledge of transportation and land use planning principles, and experience translating these general principles into specific, feasible implementation plans. 0 Excellent writing, speaking and listening skills. Judy Dorsgy, Principal Engineer Project Role: Project management, final presentations, quality control Biographical Sketch: Years of experience in industry: 14 Education: M.S. Mechanical Engineering, Colorado State University, 1992; B.S. Mechanical Engineering, Northwestern University, 1989 Licenses: Registered Professional Engineer (PE), State of Colorado Credentials and certifications: Certified Energy Manager (CEM), Association of Energy Engineers; Accredited Professional, Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Most recent and relevant work experience/projects: 0 2004, City of Fort Collins: facilitation of Energy Efficiency Team in development of recommendations for financing energy projects in City buildings 0 2004, City of Fort Collins: facilitation of City sustainability team in development of a Sustainability Action Plan, including final report and presentations to staff and citizen boards. 0 1999, City of Fort Collins: provided support in development of City's Local Action Plan for Climate Protection. Quantified existing city programs including TDM, and benchmarked related programs in other cities. Relevant skills: strategic planning, program evaluation, technical oversight and quality control, subcontracting, project management Julie Sieving, Senior Engineer Project Role: Project lead for report development including outline development, technical writing under direction of project technical lead, and coordination of technical editing, word processing, and graphic design. Biographical Sketch: Years of experience in industry: 9 Education: B.S. Mechanical Engineering, Colorado State University,1997 Licenses: Engineer -in -Training (EIT), State of Colorado -5- VMT Best Practices Review Credentials and certifications: Accredited Professional, Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Most recent and relevant work experience/projects: 0 2001-2005, City of Fort Collins: assisted Climate Wise program to identify, evaluate and track greenhouse gas reduction measures, including projects related to transportation, energy efficiency and water conservation, of voluntary business participants 0 2001-2005, National Ski Areas Association: assisted in annual assessment and report development for industry's environmental charter on best environmental practices involving transportation, air quality, energy efficiency, water use, etc; 0 2005, Poudre School District: led report production effort to update school district's 2000 sustainable design guideline with emphasis on new energy applications and technologies; final document available for review at https: //www.psdschools. org/documentlibrary/downloads/Operations/Plan_Des ign_ and _ Construction/Sustainable _ Design_Guidelines_2oo5.pdf Relevant skills: data collection/analysis, cost estimating, implementation, technical writing, report production Carissa Dragos, Engineer Intern Project Role: As -needed intern support most likely in the areas of researching measures under the direction of project technical lead and compiling data on City's existing TDM programs Education: Masters of Engineering in Mechanical Engineering, Colorado State University, 2005 (pending); B.S. Mechanical Engineering, Colorado State University, 2004 Licenses: Engineer -in -Training (EIT) , State of Colorado, 2003 Credentials and certifications: Six Sigma Green Belt Most recent and relevant work experience/projects: 0 2005, City of Fort Collins: data gathering to quantify Climate Wise program results, including transportation initiatives by participating businesses. 0 2005, Surface Coating Cross -Media Compliance Assistance Program: data analysis in a Product Category Model, brochure content research and technical writing 0 2005, Poudre School District Sustainable Design Guidelines: guidelines update assistance Relevant skills: Research, spreadsheets, report writing, statistical data analysis 3 Availability and Schedule We're available to start the project at any time and estimate total time to completion to be 12- 16 weeks. With the exception of a conference the third week in January, all of our team members are generally available over the next several months to complete their respective roles on this project. M VMT Best Practices Review 4 Motivation This project's scope is a natural fit for VTPI and coordinates nicely with The Brendle Group's past and current support to City programs. We've been honored to work with you in the past and are enthusiastic to apply VTPI's perspectives and experiences to our local situation. Our physical proximity to City staff and our team's availability all speak to our motivation for conducting a VMT Best Practices Review for the City. 5 Cost and Work Hours From a pricing standpoint, our market analysis shows that both The Brendle Group and VTPI offer very competitive rates for our qualifications and years of experience. Furthermore please note that, aside from VTPI, we will not charge travel or other direct expenses related to meetings or field services from Brendle Group staff, assuming that all work will be completed within the greater Fort Collins area. Our 2005 published hourly labor rates are provided as follows: Principal $102/hour Senior Engineer $85/hour Junior Engineer $65/hour Intern Engineer $4o/hour Technical Editing $45/hour Word Processing $50/hour Graphic Design $55/hour Based on these rates and the mix of staff anticipated for this project, we estimate the effective billing rate from The Brendle Group to be $75/hour. VTPI's effective rate in U.S. dollars is $too/hour. The following table summarizes the project total cost and work hours for The Brendle Group and VTPI. -7- VMT Best Practices Review Task Hours of Effort Deliverables Time Needed VTPI Brendle Total Literature review 10 5 2 weeks Review current Fort Collins policies & practices 20 20 2 weeks Consult stakeholders 15 20 Meetings 1 week Identify suitable performance indicators 10 10 1 week Prepare draft report 101 15 Draft report 2 weeks Finalize report 01 10 Final report 2 weeks Final presentation 101 10 Presentation 2 week Contracts Project Management— 1 10 Totals 75 100 170 12 weeks Billing rate U.S. dollars per hour 100 75 Total labor cost $7,5001 $7,500 $13,000 Special Expenses $2,000 $2,000 Two trips to Fort Collins Total $9,500 7,500 L $17,000 6 Firm Capability As small firms with low turnover, The Brendle Group and VTPI can both say that our corporate capabilities closely represent the qualifications and experience of the specific staff we propose for this project. Corporate qualifications, references, and representative projects for each organization are provided below. Victoria Transportation Policy Institute Overview: Founded in 1995, Victoria Transport Policy Institute is an independent research organization dedicated to developing innovative tools for transportation decision making. It is a leader in its field with an extensive list of successful projects performed for a diverse range of clients. Below are examples of recent VTPI projects. References: Smart Growth B.C. Contact Name: Cheeying Ho, Executive Director Phone: (604) 915-5234 Email: cheeying@a smartgrowth.bc.ca