Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) Comprehensive Safety Action Plan - 5309094

This is a service / maintenance or supply contract in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Contact the soliciting agency for additional information.

Lackawanna County requests proposals from qualified consulting firms to prepare a Comprehensive Safety Action Plan. This project will be funded with federal funds and the maximum consultant budget is $225,000. The Consultant must comply with all federal procurement requirements. Lackawanna County reserves the right to accept or reject any proposals or to make no award at all, extend the period for accepting proposals, advertise the RFP at any time, and waive any minor irregularities in any proposals. Please note that no information given will be binding upon the County unless such notification is issued in writing as an official addendum to this RFP. Purpose of Request Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, [population: 215,896] will develop a Safety Action Plan with strong emphasis on equity and citizen participation. To establish roadway safety goals, the governance framework, and identify implementation projects, a comprehensive planning process is required. Federal support is necessary for robust public engagement, data collection/assessment, and reviewing promising Safety Action Plan models. This Safety Action Plan will greatly benefit Lackawanna County's efforts to invest in future transportation improvements strategically and equitably. There are 1,627.36 linear miles of public roadways in Lackawanna County. Major highways traversing the county include Interstates 81, 84, 380, the northeast extension of the Pennsylvania Turnpike (I-476), US Route 6 (Governor Robert Casey Highway), US Route 11, PA Route 307, and Business Route 6 (Scranton-Carbondale Highway). Over the fiveyear span from 2018-2022, there have been a total of 12,145 crashes reported in Lackawanna County. Lackawanna County has unfortunately averaged 20 fatal accidents per year over the same five-year span. The Safety Action Plan will provide a framework of innovative strategies and implementation actions intended to reduce transportation-related fatalities and serious injuries while also supporting federal safety initiatives. The Safety Action Plan will identify safety issues and specific actions that can be implemented to improve safety for people traveling by any mode throughout the region. The plan will develop recommendations for both motorized and non- motorized modes in the roadway network as well as other elements including land use, transit, freight, and other community factors to create a comprehensive course of action. The plan will address federal and state regulations, performance management goals, measures, and targets, and will promote equitable outcomes. As noted, this plan will be funded through an Action Plan Grant through the Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) discretionary grant program. The purpose of this program, established by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), is to support local initiatives to prevent death and serious injury on roads and streets, including pedestrians, bicyclists, public transportation users, motorists, personal conveyance and micro-mobility users, and commercial vehicle operators. Once complete, the Action Plan will allow Lackawanna County and its 40 municipalities to apply for implementation discretionary grant funds through the SS4A initiative. The project will be led by the Lackawanna County Planning and Economic Development Department, with guidance from PennDOT, the Lackawanna Luzerne MPO, and the 40 municipalities within Lackawanna County. Federal funds will be used to procure professional consultant(s) to assist with the safety analysis, community engagement, and a written plan with measurements and specific project recommendations based on data and public input. Scope of Work The Safety Action Plan developed through this planning process will outline Lackawanna County's strategy to prevent fatalities and serious injuries within the County. The Safety Action plan should include all the components laid out by the U.S. Department of Transportation to successfully apply for implementation funds. These components can be referenced in Table 1 in the SS4A 2023 NOFO o Project Management: The consultant will manage the study and coordinate plan documentation, public engagement events, data collection, and stakeholder coordination. The consultant will host regular meetings with the Lackawanna County staff assigned to this planning process and will submit monthly progress reports including performed work, upcoming events and milestones, and status of the schedule. o Stakeholder and Public Engagement: The consultant will develop and implement a robust stakeholder and public engagement plan for the planning process. A strong emphasis should be placed on equity in outreach activities, new American, and economically disadvantaged communities. At a minimum, this engagement schedule should include the following: o Identification of and engagement activities for groups disproportionately impacted by traffic risks and are not typically engaged by safety planning. o Online and in-person communication strategy for sharing plan information and engagement events with residents and stakeholders. o Steering committee of diverse community stakeholders and residents that provides direction and feedback on the planning process. o Identification of, and engagement activities for, stakeholder groups. o A minimum of 4 engaging public events in each of the four county planning regions to garner feedback on plan recommendations. o Data Collection: The consultant will collect and review existing programs, policies, planning documents and provide a summary of the current state of efforts to address transportation safety in Lackawanna County. The consultant should provide a summary of best practices employed by municipalities of a similar size. o Safety Analysis: The consultant will analyze existing safety conditions and trends related to crashes in the County. The consultant will analyze contributing factors as well as crash types. Other analysis includes high-risk road features, specific safety needs of diverse road users, connections to public and environmental health, analysis of the built environment, demographic, and structural issues, etc. The analysis should include all roadways within Lackawanna County, without regard for ownership. o Transportation Equity Review: An analysis of transportation systems, services, infrastructure, and processes that support safe, reliable, and intuitive multimodal options that are accessible to all populations. Recommendations should be prepared to ensure equity in the planning process including strategies to reduce socioeconomic disparities experienced by underserved and underrepresented communities. o Implementation Matrix: The consultant will develop an implementation matrix that identifies potential projects, strategies, recommendations, and a schedule for future grant opportunities. Along with larger projects, the matrix should include regular maintenance and update cycles to stay in compliance and in line with safety best practices. The implementation matrix will recognize the County's diversity of road users. Considerations should be made for fiscal and staff capacity required to achieve traffic safety goals and meet SS4A objectives after plan adoption. A project readiness timeline for each strategy and project should be included for short-term (0-5 years), mid-term (5-10 years), and long-term (10+ years). o Administrative Draft/ Final Plan: The consultant will prepare an administrative draft of the Safety Plan for staff and steering committee review prior to finalization of the document. The final draft should be visually appealing, easy to read and available in digital and print formats. o Executive Summary and Fact Sheet: The consultant shall develop an executive summary with a fact sheet to easily communicate high level planning document takeaways. The summary should include graphics, plan highlights and be visually engaging and available in digital and print formats. o Deliverables: Following completion of the planning process, the consultant will provide the County with the final planning document in PDF format. All data and study products collected during the planning process must also be included. The consultant must provide 20 bound print copies of the final planning document. All questions regarding the RFP shall be submitted by email no later than 4 PM on FEBRUARY 7, 2024. Questions shall be submitted to the County contact named above at Middletone@lackawannacounty.org Terms & Conditions 1) Lackawanna County reserves the right to reject any or all proposals or to award the contract to the next most qualified firm if the successful firm does not execute a contract within thirty (30) days after the award of the proposal. Lackawanna County shall not pay for any information contained in proposals obtained from participating firms. 2) Lackawanna County reserves the right to request clarification on any information submitted and additionally reserves the right to request additional information of one (1) or more applicants. 3) If, through any cause, the consultant shall fail to fulfill in a timely and proper manner the obligations agreed to, Lackawanna County shall have the right to terminate its contract by specifying the date of termination in a written notice to the firm at least ninety (90)working days before the termination date. In this event, the firm shall be entitled to just and equitable compensation for any satisfactory work completed. 4)All documents submitted as part of the consultant's offering will be deemed confidential during the evaluation process.