Proposal | March 15, 2011 Consulting Services for the Functional and Detailed Design of Intersection Improvements at Hatfield and North King Street SUBMITTED TO City of Northampton, Massachusetts SUBMITTED BY Vanasse Hangen Brustlin, Inc. Intersection Improvements at Hatfi eld and North King Street Table of Contents Section 1 Qualifi cations & Experience ......................................................................................................................... 1 Section 2 Project Team & Resumes ...............................................................................................................................21 Section 3 Project Understanding & Approach ...........................................................................................65 Section 4 Price Quote ...........................................................................................................................................................................75 Vanasse Hangen Brustlin, Inc. Intersection Improvements at Hatfi eld and North King Street 1 Qualifi cations & Experience About VHB Founded in 1979, VHB is a Massachusetts-based engineering, planning, and applied science VHB at a Glance fi rm with offi ces along the East Coast. In 2010, VHB was ranked 82nd of the top 500 engineering fi rms nationwide by industry publication Engineering News-Record (ENR). Established in 1979 VHB’s staff of 850 includes an experienced complement of registered professional engineers, Massachusetts offi ces in traffi c and transportation planning specialists, environmental scientists, landscape architects, Worcester, Springfi eld, Boston, stormwater specialists, pavement designers, and land surveyors, who are committed to and Watertown (headquarters) achieving project excellence. Other offi ces in New Hampshire, VHB has provided complete engineering Vermont, Rhode Island, Watertown services from project planning, through the Worcester Connecticut, New York, New regulatory and review processes, to fi nal Jersey, Maryland, Virginia, engineering design, and production of North Carolina, and Florida construction contract documents. We have Boston completed major, complex transportation, 850+ employees land development, and environmental projects for both public- and private-sector Springfield Engineering News-Record has clients. In addition to our design and nd ranked VHB 82 of the “Top permitting experience, VHB assists many VHB has four offi ce locations in Massachusetts 500 U.S. Design Firms” municipalities with engineering on-call design services. Engineering News-Record has ranked VHB 64th of the “Top 100 Pure Design Firms” Specialized Services VHB has provided complete engineering services from project planning, through the regulatory and review processes, to fi nal engineering design, and production of construction contract documents. The range of capabilities that VHB off ers is extremely broad and covers all areas necessary to review, plan, design, and construct the most complex infrastructure projects. The following is a summary of the capabilities we will bring to Northampton. Whereas not all of them may be called for under this contract, this breadth of available services underscores the comprehensive understanding VHB brings to each of its projects. Vanasse Hangen Brustlin, Inc. Intersection Improvements at Hatfi eld and North King Street 1 Qualifi cations & Experience Transportation Planning VHB provides transportation planning services for a wide variety of private- and public-sector clients in both urban and suburban areas. Projects include identifying multimodal transportation issues associated with various types of transportation projects such as alternative modes analyses, highway route location studies, multimodal access, congestion analyses, corridor studies, vehicular/pedestrian confl ict studies, and transportation impact assessments. VHB off ers the ability to develop and combine technical modeling procedures with pragmatic transportation planning and traffi c operations applications. Our core transportation planning practice is focused on the preparation and review of traffi c impact and access analyses, from a multimodal perspective. Traffi c Engineering VHB designs intersection improvements for new and existing land developments for private, municipal, and state agencies. Services include the design of complete new signal systems, redesign of existing signal systems, integration of closed-loop systems, geometric and channelization improvements, signing, and pavement markings. VHB has extensive experience in all areas of traffi c signal system construction and installation. Staff members have been involved in the actual design of various traffi c signal control hardware and software as well as the design, testing, and inspection of cabinet assemblies and completed systems. Our experience encompasses communication mediums that include fi ber optic communications networks for various ITS systems including centralized and distributed traffi c signal systems, as well as a familiarity with all of the various central system control platforms. Roundabout Engineering VHB provides design services for roundabout projects for towns, cities, private developments, and state transportation agencies. Projects range from single-lane roundabouts, two-lane roundabouts, and roundabouts that consist of a combination of one and two travel lanes; or hybrids. With the increasing requirement of our clients and the state permitting agencies to assess alternative means for traffi c operations to improve traffi c fl ow and congestion at intersections, VHB’s expertise in roundabout design is unparalleled. Our experience and training allows us to off er our clients the ability to assess multiple improvement options including implementing a roundabout versus a traditional signalized intersection. Our core transportation practice has developed roundabout concepts for numerous projects that have advanced from the concept stage through the design and permitting process and into construction. Roadway Engineering 2 VHB designs complex highway and roadway design projects for towns and cities, and for state transportation agencies. Projects range in size from the design of multilane limited access highways and interchanges to reconstruction of minor arterials, local roads, and single intersections. VHB has also planned and designed a number of bikeways of various lengths and facility types. These services include the preparation of contract plans, specifi cations and estimates, construction sequencing and scheduling, traffi c management during construction, MassDOT Project Development and Design Guide In 2003, MassDOT (formerly MassHighway) began an eff ort to overhaul its Highway Design Manual for the Commonwealth’s roads and highways. At the time, many believed that the Manual contributed to project delays due to lack of guidance about environmental issues, lack of community outreach, and/or opposition to project designs. Spurred by the Governor’s Communities First policy, MassDOT took a radically new approach to this process by appointing a Task Force and retaining VHB to undertake this important statewide initiative. In 2006, the Project Development and Design Guide was adopted. The Guide includes the following major themes: Context-Sensitive Design. The Guide has signifi cantly more fl exible design standards; is strongly multimodal; incorporates community setting as a design factor; dramatically reshapes the project development process; and supports early planning and coordination to create safe, attractive transportation facilities. The Guide’s new design standards successfully balance MassDOT’s stewardship responsibility for the Commonwealth’s road system with VHB’s involvement with the citizens, organizations, and agencies respect for the character of its communities. represented on the Task Force resulted in dramatically diff erent and widely supported new standards in MassDOT’s Project Multimodalism. The Guide is unique among most state Development and Design Guide. Representatives of NP&EDC highway department manuals in the U.S. for its integrated were major contributors to the success of the Task Force eff orts. approach to multimodalism. It introduces a new and unique Many participants in the Task Force began with the assumption planning framework for multimodal accommodations that that their organizations (municipalities, recreation groups, is responsive to the context in which a project is being conservation advocates, historic societies) or issues (access for developed. Guidance is also provided on how to safely and the disabled, pedestrian safety, bicycle travel, environmental eff ectively accommodate pedestrians, including those conservation) were not equitably addressed in the 1997 manual, requiring mobility aids, and bicycles through intersections where automobiles were the dominant consideration. The Task and interchanges. The Guide also includes a chapter discussing Force process helped to educate the sometimes competing design of off -road facilities such as paths and greenways. interest groups and forge consensus among those with disparate concerns. Clear Project Development Process. The Guide outlines an eight-step project development process that provides clear direction to the proponents of projects on how to move from identifi cation of a transportation need to project completion and assessment. 3 81259.11 Vanasse Hangen Brustlin, Inc. Intersection Improvements at Hatfi eld and North King Street 1 Qualifi cations & Experience