REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS (RFP) No. 017-007
AUTOMATED PARKING COUNT SYSTEM
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
Below are questions VRE received as of May 18, 2017 at 11:00 A.M. EST, with responses. Whenever possible, questions are presented as originally asked. Otherwise, the questions or inquiries are presented to capture the main thrust or idea.
SECTION B – PROCUREMENT SCHEDULE
1. Will VRE extend the due date for Proposals by one (1) or two (2) weeks to allow Offerors more time to scout the stations and prepare their Proposals? With additional time, Offerors can put together more creative and thorough Proposals.
See Addendum No. 1.
SECTION D – SCOPE OF WORK
2. Will VRE share the budget allotted for this project?
No.
3. Should the car counter be a simple car counter at the carpark entry/exit, or does VRE want individual sensors for each parking spot?
VRE will consider all proposed car counting solutions that meet the requirements included in the RFP.
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4. Is the Contractor required to attend meetings at the VRE offices?
Yes. See Sections 5.2O. and 5.2R. of Attachment V.3 – Technical Specifications of the RFP.
5. Can the Contractor perform tasks required in the scope of work outside of the United States?
The work and training required for the Proof of Concept (POC) location must be performed in the United States. Maintenance and support, which shall be provided by the Contractor after the POC is complete, can be performed outside the United States. However, in accordance with Section E.18 of the RFP, the Contractor shall assign a single point of contact who must be available between the hours of 8:00 A.M. and 5:00 P.M. EST, Monday through Friday, to address any critical issues that arise.
6. For the Quantico Station, delineators would be required to obtain accurate counts as the lane width is around 35’ to 45’. Is this acceptable?
VRE will consider all proposed solutions to obtain accurate parking counts, to include those that do or do not include delineators. However, the Offferor shall specify the quantity, type, and placement of the delineators required for accurate counts within its Proposal.
7. For the Lorton Station, it is not clear which lot is included in the scope of work. Is the Contractor responsible for providing parking counts for all surface lots in the area of the station?
See Addendum No. 1. The Contractor is responsible for providing parking counts for the surface lots highlighted in yellow.
8. At the Burke Centre Station, must the parking count system distinguish between cars parked in the surface lot and cars parked in the garage?
No.
9. There are several lots that appear to serve the Manassas Station. Can VRE specifically identify which lots are included in the scope of work for this Contract?
See Addendum No. 1. The Contractor is responsible for providing parking counts for the parking garage and two (2) surface lots highlighted in yellow.
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Virginia Railway Express
10. Can VRE provide CAD drawings for all garages and surface lots at the thirteen (13) stations listed below?
- Fredericksburg Station - Leeland Road Station - Brooke Station - Quantico Station - Rippon Station - Woodbridge Station - Lorton Station - Broad Run Station - Manassas Station - Manassas Park Station - Burke Centre Station - Rolling Road Station - Backlick Road Station
No. VRE does not have CAD drawings available to provide to Offerors.
11. Are any of the stations included in this Contract mixed-use?
Yes. Burke Centre is a mixed-use station. Burke Centre and Lorton include bus loops for local transit providers. Additionally, Woodbridge has a bus loop for transit providers, as well as Greyhound.
All parking lots included in this solicitation are commuter lots, which are not exclusively used by VRE. Therefore, other commuters, to include those that vanpool, carpool, etc., may use the lots. The purpose of this solicitation is to track parking availability within each lot.
12. Will the Contractor be responsible for installation at other stations beyond Spotsylvania Station?
No. VRE is responsible for installation at all other stations.
13. Is XML the preferred format for transmitting data?
Yes. The preferred format is .xml.
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Virginia Railway Express
14. Can VRE provide a copy of the report prepared by Verizon which indicates the strength of the cell phone signal at each station?
Yes. See Attachment A hereto.
15. Does VRE want the automated parking count system to monitor the use and availability of ADA parking spaces at each station?
No. VRE requires only a total parking count.
16. Does VRE want the automated parking count system to interface with its existing mobile ticketing application?
No.
17. Does VRE require one (1) spare of each part at each station location?
No. In accordance with Section 2.5 of Attachment V.3 – Technical Specifications, VRE requires one (1) spare unit of each Parking Count System (PCS) equipment type only.
SECTION M – SUBMISSION OF PROPOSAL
18. Can Proposals be submitted to VRE via email?
No. In accordance with Section M.6E. of the RFP, electronic, facsimile or verbal Proposals shall not be accepted.
19. Can companies outside the United States submit a Proposal in response to this solicitation?
Yes. However, Offerors must comply with Section H.12 – Buy America Provision of the RFP.
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Virginia Railway Express
ATTACHMENT V.3 – TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS
20. With respect to Section 1.3H., can VRE clarify what it means by the statement that a count solution shall not require a field hardware controller in each lane? Is there a specific reason for this requirement?
The solution may include these components, excluding gates, but they are not required. VRE will not provide power or internet connection for the proposed solution.
21. Section 1.4B.8. requires that vehicles entering and exiting through the delineated lanes be detected with 98% accuracy. What is the method for making this calculation? Is this a turnover calculation or simply the number of cars vs. spaces?
Ninety-eight percent (98%) accuracy is based on accurately counting the number of valid vehicles entering and exiting a parking facility based on the spaces available while accommodating invalid counts as described in the technical specifications.
22. Section 1.5D. indicates that the Contractor shall allow for interfacing with future VRE signage requirements. What are the future sign requirements? Would such requirements include a sign indicating the lot is full?
Signage is not a requirement of this RFP.
In collaboration with the respective county, VRE may in the future look to install parking signage such as a monument sign at the Burke Centre multi-story parking garage or a lot full/empty sign at a surface lot.
23. Section 4.2C.9. states that all reports require 100% accuracy. Can VRE clarify this requirement?
It is VRE's requirement that all data captured in the Contractor’s reports shall be 100% accurate based on the count data received from the lanes. Entry counts/date/time, exit counts/date/time and any totals/sub-totals shall be 100% accurate.
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Virginia Railway Express