Consideration and Approval of Contract:  Consultant Agreement:  Development and Analysis of Operational Alternatives for the Milton Road Corridor (Grant funded)

Milton Road is the main “entrance” to the City transitioning directly to and from Interstate 17.  As a major arterial in a region with a poorly developed arterial/collector network, the roadway is required to serve many functions: multimodal corridor, general mobility, general access, gateway feature and more.  Options for developing parallel arterials for congestion relief are increasingly expensive and difficult to phase, requiring a renewed focus on improving Milton Road operations.  The purpose of this effort is to use micro-simulation modeling to examine and illustrate the performance of different combinations of access management treatments, transit service patterns, and various intersection configurations.  Subsidiary Decisions Points: The project is supported by the FMPO Executive Board in the FMPO Work Program and Transportation Improvement Program.  The project is supported by the Arizona Department of Transportation. 

The cost is $99,972.12.  Grant match valued at $14,951.92 will be provided through in-kind labor by City staff participating in the project.

Below are the Council goals relating to this item:

 1. Repair Replace maintain infrastructure (streets & utilities)
 5. Retain, expand, and diversify economic base
11. Effective governance (via potential for future partnerships with ADOT)

The FMPO participated with ADOT in the Flagstaff Urban Mobility Study of Milton Road in 2003-2004.  The study was primarily funded by ADOT.  The FMPO brought some money to the consulting contract to more fully evaluate multimodal alternatives and the Council approved that action.  The Urban Mobility Study will be used as a basis for the alternatives evaluated in this beginning effort.  Implementation of the original study was hampered by lack of direction on land use at the time which prevented decision on access, access management, and project specificity.  FMPO staff working with City staff believe many of those issues are closer to resolution, due in part, to information contained in the Council adopted Flagstaff Regional Plan 2030.

          

1. Approve the agreement to Kimley-Horn & Associates, Inc. as recommended.
2. Reject all bids.  Not recommended.  All firms are qualified and capable of doing the work.  All proposals are within budget.  Rejecting bids will delay the project and create coordination efforts with another project should a grant be awarded.   

Milton Road is a state highway and subject to state plans and policies.  Regionally, it is addressed by the Flagstaff Regional Land Use and Transportation Plan (2001), the FMPO Regional Transportation Plan 2009 and is addressed in a draft update of the former, Flagstaff Regional Plan 2030.  A more detailed ADOT study from 2004, The Flagstaff Urban Mobility Study, also speaks to general desired improvements. That study identified Lone Tree Road as an important alternative route.  An economic downturn and significant increases in the cost of an interchange at I-40 have forestalled that option.   NAIPTA, the local transit provider, recently envisioned significant improvements to Milton Road in their 5-Year and Long Range Transit Plan updates (2013). Finally, Northern Arizona University has a campus master plan that identifies policies, expansion plans and many key physical improvements.     

Partnership opportunities exist with the Arizona Department of Transportation through the highway safety program if projects are identified and have a positive cost-benefit ratio.  Leveraging of federal funds through the Federal Transit Administration is possible if a viable transit corridor is identified.

Four (4) firms submitted proposals for performing the consulting service.  A five (5)-person evaluation committee independently reviewed each proposal and scored the firms on the following criteria:  experience and qualifications, presented approach and schedule, and pricing fee.  The scoring results are on the attached Scoring Tabulation document.
 

Funding is available through Federal Transit Administration Section 5303 Metropolitan Transit Planning Funds in the amount of $47,000 (requires 20% match) and in Federal Highway Administration Surface Transportation Program funds of $53,000 (requires 5.7% match).  Matching funds will be provided via in-kind labor from participating City staff.

A robust analysis will help clarify potential prospective solutions (i.e,  roundabouts for example) in addressing challenges in this corridor.

Inform - the general purpose of this exercise is to test several alternatives and measure their effectiveness in resolving safety, congestion, access and multimodal mobility issues.  This information will be used for future consultation and collaboration with the public.  The City applied for a grant to undertake that public effort.  Failing receipt of the grant, the City will proceed with an outreach effort for a smaller section of the corridor, likely in the vicinity of the area of north of Butler Avenue.