OLD BUSINESS  11.

COMMITTEE MEMORANDUM

HISTORY:

At the December 9, 2015 City Commission meeting, the Commission discussed the need to improve the existing bus shelter design and the desire for bus shelters to include enhancements that could help promote transit. The new bus shelter design is intended to be of an iconic nature and incorporate features enhancing the transit experience of passengers, including innovative designs and technology, as well as to enable for installation of bus shelters at more bus stops with high transit ridership. 

Given the City Commission’s desire for an iconic bus shelter design, the Commission directed the Administration to procure design services first, and once a design was approved, to subsequently pursue the construction, operation, and maintenance of the new bus shelters via a separate competitive solicitation process.

At the March 9, 2016 City Commission meeting, the Commission  adopted Resolution No. 2016-29325, accepting the recommendation of the Finance and Citywide Projects Committee (FCWPC) to issue a Request for Proposals for the design of new bus shelters; and authorizing the City Manager to extend the existing agreement between the City and Clear Channel on a month-to-month basis after expiration on October 31, 2016, as needed, such that the Clear Channel contract would remain in place until a new bus shelter contract is executed.

On April 13, 2016, the City Commission approved to issue Request For Qualifications (RFQ) No. 2016-116-KB for Architectural and Engineering Design Criteria Professional Services for New Bus Shelters.  The evaluation process resulted in the ranking of ACAI Associates, Inc., as the top ranked proposer.  The ACAI Associates team includes the premier design firm of Pininfarina.

A contract for design services was executed on July 19, 2017, and the design effort commenced on October 4, 2017.  The design phase includes development of 100% final engineering plans, specifications, and construction cost estimates and is anticipated to be completed by end of September 2018.

Four (4) shelter design types are being developed by the ACAI/Pininfarina team: 1) enhanced shelter (robust shelter for installation at major transfer points with high number of users); 2) standard shelter; 3) minimal shelter (for installation at locations with limited right-of-way width, low ridership, or adjacent to single family residential areas); and 4) temporary shelter (low-cost installation for temporary use at locations affected by construction).

At its December 15, 2017 meeting, the FCWPC discussed an item entitled "Bus Shelter Design Concepts" and reviewed (4) preliminary design concepts for each of the bus shelter types submitted by the design team as part of a pre-design report, excluding the temporary shelter.  The Committee passed a motion recommending that two (2) of the four (4) design concepts (specifically Concept # 3 and Concept # 4) be advanced for further design development, including cost estimation.

At its January 17, 2018 meeting, the City Commission adopted Resolution No. 2018-30152, accepting the recommendation of the FCWPC and approving Concepts # 3 and 4 for further design development and cost estimation.

ANALYSIS:

Pursuant to the direction from the City Commission, the Transportation Department staff worked with the design team on developing cost estimates to be presented to the FCWPC for selection of a primary bus shelter design concept for further design development.  Estimates provided in the table below are based on costs associated with manufacturing and installation of a standard bus shelter approximately 20' x 7' in size.  The design team is also developing designs and cost estimates for the enhanced shelter (likely larger than standard size) as well as for minimal and temporary shelters (smaller than the standard size). The cost estimates assume electrical, water, and drainage systems are existing and available at the bus shelter location.

Not included in the cost estimate are the costs associated with:

• Dedicated power to the shelter

• Modification to the surrounding sidewalk, if needed, to comply with ADA requirements

• Passenger security systems and cameras

• Estimated time of arrival electronic signs and ADA-compliant annunciators

• Wi-FI

• Any other smart technology/component not included above

While the costs of the above elements are not included in the cost estimates at this time due to the preliminary stage of the design concepts, it is anticipated that these costs would be the same for both shelter concepts. 

Similar to the City's current bus shelter contract provisions, and pursuant to Commission direction, the City will subsequently procure a new contractor to fabricate, install, operate, and maintain the new bus shelters at no cost to the City. 

Attachment A depicts bus shelter design concepts three (3) and four (4) for which cost estimates were developed by the design team.  Attachment B depicts detailed manufacturing and installation cost estimates associated with both shelter concepts, excluding any technology amenities at this time.

CONCLUSION:
In order to meet project milestones including approvals from the Design Review Board (DRB) and Historic Preservation Board (HPB), the Administration recommends that a primary concept be selected for further design development by the ACAI/Pininfarina design team.