TO: ADAM PIRRIE, CITY MANAGER
FROM: BRAD JOHNSON, COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR
DATE: JUNE 25, 2024
Reviewed by:
City Manager: AP
SUBJECT:
Title
AUTHORIZATION TO AMEND THE AGREEMENT WITH KOA CORPORATION FOR THE MOUNTAIN AVENUE CORRIDOR (BASE LINE ROAD TO BONITA AVENUE) COMPLETE STREETS IMPROVEMENTS DESIGN (FUNDING SOURCE: STATE GAS TAX FUND)
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SUMMARY
The City of Claremont maintains a Pavement Management System (PMS) to develop street maintenance schedules. At the February 25, 2021 Traffic and Transportation Commission (TTC) meeting, staff presented the PMS preparation update, which included information on the Pavement Condition Index (PCI), used to identify the roadway segments in critical need of maintenance, to be included in the maintenance schedule. Mountain Avenue was included on the list of streets to be maintained.
Consistent with the Claremont Complete Streets Policy, and as part of its implementation, the Commission provided feedback and suggestions regarding Complete Streets features which could be considered for implementation into the pavement management schedule scope of work. As part of this process, the Commission suggested a number of improvements above and beyond basic roadway maintenance, which required that Mountain Avenue be pulled from the maintenance schedule to be evaluated for complete streets as a stand-alone project.
At its January 24, 2023 meeting, the City Council authorized the execution of a design contract with KOA Corporation for the design of the Mountain Avenue corridor to integrate Complete Streets components to the maintenance project, to include Class II bike lanes (striped/green bike lanes) and additional pedestrian and accessibility features at selected locations, as recommended by traffic studies previously performed by the Complete Street Safety Assessment (CSSA) conducted by UC Berkeley experts.
During the project design phase, the City received additional public feedback requesting that the TTC consider new roadway configurations that accommodate Class IV bike lanes instead of Class II bike lanes. In order to address this request, KOA was asked to conduct a separate analysis to study roadway configurations that could consider Class IV bike lanes. The separate study evaluated three suggested Class IV bike lane options, which were not part of the original KOA contract scope of work.
The cost to have KOA study the public’s request for alternate options that could potentially accommodate Class IV bike lanes and additional features accounted for an additional $47,000 in professional engineering services outside of the original scope of the work of the contract. While the Class IV bike lane options were deemed inappropriate for the Mountain Avenue corridor, there are a number of additional complete street features suggested through public comment that will enhance the project and are being recommended for inclusion. To move forward to complete the Mountain Avenue design, the original contract amount will need to be increased by $396,021, which includes the $47,000 for the services already rendered as explained above.
The TTC considered the different Class IV options at its October 26, 2023 meeting. At this meeting, the TTC concurred with staff and supported the recommendation that included Class II bike lanes and the addition of the recommended complete street features requested by the public during the re-evaluation process.
Staff recommends that the City Council authorize the City Manager to execute a contract amendment in the amount of $396,021, from the approved Capital Improvement Program budget for 2023-24 to complete this project’s design, as supported by the TTC. Once design work is complete, the City will have a “shovel ready” project and be in a position to apply for future grant funding opportunities. The timely completion of the design is critical to meet the upcoming SB1 Local Partnership Program grant application deadline, expected for fall 2024 because the construction phase of this project is currently underfunded.
RECOMMENDATION
Recommended Action
Staff recommends the City Council:
A. Authorize the City Manager to execute an amendment to the agreement with KOA Corporation for the design of the Mountain Avenue Corridor (Base Line Road to Bonita Avenue) Complete Streets Project in the amount of $396,021, increasing the total contract amount to $827,319; and
B. Find this item is exempt from environmental review under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).
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ALTERNATIVE TO RECOMMENDATION
In addition to the recommendation, there is the following alternative:
• Request additional information from staff.
FINANCIAL REVIEW
The initial award authorized to prepare plans and specifications as proposed by KOA Corporation was $392,089, with a ten percent contingency of $39,209, for a total not to exceed amount of $431,298. This contract amount was for a scope of work consistent with the improvements recommended by a previous traffic study and by the CSSA conducted by UC Berkeley.
During the design phase, KOA was asked to evaluate multiple potential modifications to the original contract scope to address late requests from the public to consider options to incorporate Class IV bike lanes and additional complete streets components onto the project roadway configuration along the corridor.
To pay for these additional professional services, and to accommodate the completion of the project design integrating the complete street features added, a contract amendment of $396,021 is necessary. The 2022-24 Budget included $900,000 in funding for design services, in addition to the $2,100,000 amount to implement the construction of this project. This $2,100,000 amount can only provide basic roadway maintenance, Class II bike lanes with a few accessibility features. The Complete Streets project supported by the TTC which added pedestrian and accessibility features is currently underfunded.
The cost to construct the Mountain Avenue Complete Streets Project with the additionally requested complete street features is estimated at $8 million to $10 million. At this point in time, there is no additional available funding to move forward with the construction phase of this project. Future grant funding opportunities will need to be pursued to complete this project. Staff anticipates applying for the SB1 Local Partnership Program (SB1 LPP) grant, expected in fall 2024.
The cost to prepare this staff report is estimated at $2,248 and is included in the operating budget of the Community Development Department.
ANALYSIS
The City Council prioritized the evaluation of the Mountain Avenue corridor because three public schools take access from Mountain Avenue. At its January 24, 2023, the City Council authorized the execution of a design contract with KOA Corporation for the design of Mountain Avenue corridor to include Complete Streets components with Class II painted bike lanes and additional bicycle and pedestrian safety features. This original scope was consistent with the General Plan, the recommendations provided in previous traffic studies, and the recommendations provided through the Complete Streets Safety Assessment (CSSA) program conducted by UC Berkeley experts.
To improve safety conditions on Mountain Avenue, the studies conducted recommended the implementation of a lane reduction from a four-lane roadway to a three-lane roadway configuration on Mountain Avenue from Base Line Road to Foothill Boulevard. Additional proposed improvements included bulb-outs at intersections where applicable, a few mid-block pedestrian crossings, modifications to the bicycle access for El Roble Intermediate School, and the reconstruction of two crossings on Santa Clara, west of Mountain Avenue, in front of Mountain View Elementary School. At the time, staff anticipated that the design of this project, as recommended by the studies, would take six months to complete.
The 30 percent plan set prepared by KOA was presented to the TTC at their June 22, 2023 meeting. At this meeting, staff received new public feedback questioning the contract scope of work with Class II bike lanes and requesting consideration of Class IV bike lanes along the Mountain Avenue corridor. Previously, on June 20, 2023, advocacy group Claremont Streets for People (CSP) submitted written correspondence proposing an alternative street configuration that accommodated Class IV bike lanes. Staff accommodated this additional feedback process that included over 100 additional requests and worked with KOA to address.
In order to address these new requests and suggestions, KOA conducted a separate study to assess the feasibility of the suggested modifications. These new tasks were not part of the original scope of work. The updated KOA analysis was presented to the TTC on October 26, 2023. Ultimately, the Commission supported the Complete Streets project design that includes Class II green bike lanes, as originally proposed, with the addition of several new complete streets features to enhance accessibility and pedestrian safety.
The initial KOA contract amount was $392,089, with a ten percent contingency of $39,209, for a total contract amount not to exceed $431,298. This contract amount accounted for professional services associated with a scope of work consistent with the improvements recommended by a previous traffic study and by the CSSA conducted by UC Berkeley.
During the design phase, KOA was asked to study multiple potential modifications to the approved scope of work to consider three options to incorporate Class IV bike lanes and additional complete streets features into the project.
To move forward, a contract amendment is necessary to pay for these additional professional services rendered, and to complete the project design integrating the additional complete street features. The additional request for funding in the amount of $396,021 is included in the City’s 2022-24 Capital Improvement Program Budget.
It should be noted that the 2022-24 Budget included $900,000 for design services, and $2,100,000 for the construction of a roadway maintenance project on Mountain Avenue. The $2,100,000 construction funding can only provide for routine roadway maintenance, Class II bike lanes and limited accessibility features. Complete Streets projects are very expensive and the City is not able to provide a dedicated funding source to complete these projects in regular basis. The total cost to implement complete streets can be as high as $8,000,000 per mile. This is based on costs incurred with the Foothill Boulevard Master Plan Improvements project and the Towne Avenue Complete Streets Project, currently underway. In order to provide complete streets projects, the City either needs to pursue grant funding or defer multiple years of regular roadway maintenance, which impacts the integrity of the City’s infrastructure.
Staff feels that designing the project, as supported by the TTC, with the additional pedestrian and accessibility features will enhance the overall project. The following features have been added to scope of design services, which require additional funding:
• Class II green painted bike lanes
o Included with the original design scope of work
• Accessible curb ramps at curb extensions
o $ 58,141
• Upgrades to existing walkways and driveways for accessibility
o Included with the original design scope of work
• Pedestrian crossings at four locations
o $ 35,900 (includes raised crosswalk construction detail and lighting)
• Rapid Flashing Beacons at four locations
o $ 39,960
• Seven additional bulb-out (curb extensions) locations
o $ 94,783
• Dedicated Class I bike/pedestrian path in front of El Roble
o $ 83,969 (includes necessary utility work)
• Additional Ancillary Work
o $ 36,268 (drainage, median modification, etc.)
• Completed out of scope of work
o $47,000 (analysis for Class IV bike lanes and additional requests)
If approved, the amended contract will not exceed $827,319, which is consistent with a 10 percent design cost that is generally an accepted industry standard related to projected construction costs. This is consistent with the estimated construction cost of $8 million to $10 million.
Staff has been actively monitoring grant funding opportunities to pursue grant funding to complete this project. Staff and the City’s grant consultant discussed potential grant funding opportunities and determined that the SB1 LPP grant appears to be a promising match, given that the City already received $7,000,000 in SB1 LPP funding in 2018, allowing for the completion of the Foothill Boulevard Master Plan Improvements project as designed, without having to phase the project. The timely completion of the design of the Mountain Avenue Complete Streets project is crucial to allow staff to apply for the upcoming SB1 cycle, projected for fall 2024. This program requires a shovel-ready project. Failure to meet this requirement will preclude the City from applying for this viable grant and, as a result, the construction of a complete streets project on Mountain Avenue will need to be put on hold until an alternative grant funding opportunity can be identified.
RELATIONSHIP TO CITY PLANNING DOCUMENTS
Staff has evaluated the agenda item in relationship to the City’s strategic and visioning documents and finds that it applies to the following City Planning Documents: Council Priorities, Sustainability Plan, General Plan, and the 2022-24 Budget.
CEQA REVIEW
This item is categorically exempt from environmental review under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). Under CEQA Guidelines section 15301 (“Existing Facilities” - Class 1). The proposed changes to Mountain Avenue qualify as “repair” and/or minor alteration of existing public or private structures, facilities, mechanical equipment or topographical features, involving negligible or no expansion of use.” None of the exceptions in CEQA Guidelines section 15300.2 are applicable here.
PUBLIC NOTICE PROCESS
The agenda and staff report for this item have been posted on the City website and distributed to interested parties. If you desire a copy, please contact the City Clerk’s Office.
Submitted by: Prepared by:
Brad Johnson Maria B. Tipping, P.E.
Community Development Director City Engineer