Proposal Alternatives Analysis for High Capacity Public Transit on the Rail Right of Way Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission in Partnership with Santa Cruz Metropolitan Transit District (METRO) RFP 2020-08-05 September 3, 2019 Contents 01 Transmittal Letter I 02 Work Plan 01 03 Schedule 09 04 Cost Proposal 10 05 Firm Qualifi cations 12 06 Project Team, Organization Chart, and Staffi ng Plan 16 07 Qualifi cations and Relevant Experience 19 08 Federally/State-Funded Transportation Project Experience 23 09 Management Approach 24 10 References 26 Appendix A Additional Information Appendix B Resumes Appendix C Exceptions and Deviations Appendix D Cost Proposal Detail by Task Appendix E Required Forms HDR supports sustainable resource conservation and material recycling practices. This proposal package is 100% recyclable. This page is intentionally left blank. September 3, 2019 Ginger Dykaar Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission 1523 Pacifi c Avenue Santa Cruz, CA 95060 RE: Proposal for Alternatives Analysis for High Capacity Public Transit on the Rail Right of Way RFP 2020-08-05 Dear Ms. Dykaar, HDR, a full service Planning and Engineering Corporation with a long-history of transportation planning and alternatives analysis experience, is pleased to submit this proposal to assist the Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission (RTC) and Santa Cruz Metropolitan Transit District (METRO) to conduct a high capacity transit alternatives analysis for the Santa Cruz Branch Rail Line. We have thoughtfully developed a complete team to meet every technical challenge required of the RTC and METRO including expertise across all transit modes and systems; federal, state, and local transport fi nance; travel modeling and market assessment; active transportation and trails; performance-based planning using triple bottom line processes and linkages to vision and goals; economic growth analysis; environmental and engineering constraints and design needs; value engineering and business planning; and engaging public and stakeholder partners. Key members of the HDR Team include: Stephen Decker: Our Project Manager, Stephen, with 30 years of experience managing state and regional projects, specializes in performance-based, technically and data-driven, multimodal transportation planning and alternatives analysis. His experience encompasses all multimodal and transit systems, travel demand models and market assessments, triple bottom line analysis for screening and detailed analysis, and operational strategies. Stephen’s alternatives analysis experience spans his entire career, working on similar projects as this study in northern California and nationally. He will be supported by an HDR Team of local and regional modal planners that he has worked with on numerous projects throughout northern California. HDR’s National Experts: Specializing in analysis of all types of transit projects, including Chris Pauly and Justin Robbins on Autonomous Shuttles and technology; Chris Goepel on passenger rail; Nugent Laing on people movers, light rail, and hybrids; Marc Soronson on streetcar and bus rapid transit; Doug Smith on roadway ITS and operations; and Harpool Kapoor on transit vehicles of all types. Pam Yonkin, an expert in economic analysis and implementing triple bottom line approaches; Mark Watson, an HDR expert in value engineering and risk analysis; and Justin Robbins, the fi rm’s lead for transportation technology will be key members of the HDR Team. Alta Planning + Design: Already familiar with planning and designing trails throughout California including Monterey, Alta is North America’s leading multi-modal transportation fi rm specializing in the planning, design, and implementation of bicycle, pedestrian, greenway, park, and trail corridors and systems. Fehr & Peers: Fehr & Peers provides in depth knowledge, including development of the RTC’s regional travel demand models, tools, data, and performance measures that will be applied in this study. Together HDR and Fehr & Peers are currently conducting the market analysis for Metropolitan Transportation Commission’s Southern Alameda Integrated Rail Study. hdrinc.com 100 Pringle Ave., Suite 400, Walnut Creek, CA 94596 T (925) 974-2500 F (925) 974-2533 Proposal for Alternatives Analysis for High Capacity Public Transit on the Rail Right of Way September 3, 2019 Page 2 of 2 HDR is committed to providing the RTC, METRO, and their partners with the highest level of professional consulting services possible for the Alternatives Analysis, and to achieving mobility solutions that impact communities across the entire Santa Cruz County. The HDR Team off ers RTC, METRO, and the County’s stakeholders and public alike with the following features: Support County’s Long-Term Transportation Future. Defi ne fundable solutions to enhance mobility of the transportation system of the County and integration opportunities with Monterey, Bay Area, and other regions to support the future long term solutions of this 30-mile corridor. Build a Data-Driven, Unbiased Approach. Use Data- and Stakeholder-Driven Approaches to identify project characteristics for the full universe of projects to inform the planning process including leveraging the recent work prepared for the Unifi ed Corridor Study. Eff ectively Apply Best Practices and National Expertise to the Planning Process. Provide best practices and national experts across the full range of alternatives: commuter/passenger rail; light rail; hybrid rail; BRT; express bus; autonomous shuttles; Personal Rapid Transit; active transportation/trails; and integration of transit with trails to better inform the alternatives analysis process. Design Outreach Approach Leveraging recent RTC and METRO Programs. Design meaningful and focused public and stakeholder outreach with the integration of traditional, social media, and online meeting tools to expand coverage and engage under-served populations in the process. Use Performance-Based Planning to Screen/Analyze Alternatives. Apply the Triple-Bottom Line Approach using our collective 25-years of experience in performance-based planning, leveraging RTC’s recent application, will help the agencies develop feasible, fundable, and quick delivery options to help achieve their goals sooner. Address Design and Engineering Issues in the Planning Process. Bringing HDR’s design and engineering experience into the planning process to better understand right of way constraints, costs and value, integration and connectivity, and safety issues and solutions across all projects/technologies. HDR’s authorized contact and negotiator for this proposal is Ken Jong, Vice President. His contact information is as follows: Ken Jong, PE, Vice President 100 Pringle Ave., Suite 400 Walnut Creek, CA 94596 (619) 993-4908 [email protected] Sincerely, HDR Engineering, Inc. Ken Jong, PE Stephen Decker Vice President Project Manager Principal-In-Charge Santa Cruz County Regional Tranportation Commission Alternatives Analysis for High Capacity Public Transit on the Rail Right of Way • Address right-of-way infrastructure and 02 Work Plan environmental constraints • Integrate transit and trails (active transportation) Understanding alternatives on the right of way eff ectively with the For the past several years, RTC and METRO have been preferred scenarios identifi ed in the UCS for Soquel working with agency stakeholders and the public alike to Avenue/Drive (high capacity transit, roadway identify viable and creative transportation solutions across operations) and Highway 1 (Bus on Shoulder, highway all modes to reduce congestion levels and increase transit, operations) pedestrian, and bicycle opportunities in Santa Cruz County • Link land use, employment, and population growth and Highway 1 and Soquel Avenue/Drive corridor. The with a travel demand market analysis to support the corridor has deteriorated over time and, without further screening and detailed alternatives analysis investment, is expected to continue on this same path • Leverage performance-based, triple bottom line in to the future. The RTC and METRO have conducted a planning practices and innovative analytical tools and variety of regional and corridor studies that have focused models to address performance of identifi ed alternatives on creative transit (rail and high capacity transit), rideshare, • Align with stakeholder and public expectations and pedestrian and bicycle solutions to single occupancy input about solutions vehicle (SOV) driving in this corridor. Key studies, among others, include RTC’s development of the 2015 Santa The HDR Team’s approach to the alternatives Cruz Branch Rail Line Transit Feasibility Study and 2019 analysis will focus on feasible, fundable, and quick Unifi ed Corridor Study, and METRO’s 2019 Long-Range Bus delivery solutions: Replacement Plan. • Support County’s Long-Term Transportation Future. Defi ne These studies, coupled with state and multi-regional fundable solutions to enhance mobility of the transportation studies currently being planned and designed to implement system of the County and integration opportunities with integrated passenger rail services, provides the RTC, Monterey, Bay Area, and other regions to support the future METRO, stakeholders, and public partners with signifi cant long term solutions of this 30-mile corridor. momentum toward the development and funding of • Build a Data-Driven, Unbiased Approach. Use Data- integrated transit services for the region. Linking RTC’s and and Stakeholder-Driven Approaches to