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HomeMy WebLinkAbout5/7/2024 Item 7d, Hermann and Pohlman - Staff Agenda CorrespondenceCity of San Luis Obispo, Council Memorandum City of San Luis Obispo Council Agenda Correspondence DATE: May 7, 2024 TO: Mayor and Council FROM: Greg Herman, Interim Assistant City Manager Prepared By: Lucia Pohlman, Sustainability and Natural Resources Analyst VIA: Whitney McDonald, Interim City Manager SUBJECT: ITEM 7d - AUTHORIZE RELEASE OF REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS FOR A SHARED PUBLIC BICYCLE PROGRAM Staff received a series of questions about Item 7d which seeks Council’s authorization to release a request for proposals (RFP) for a shared public bicycle program. The questions are below with staff’s response shown in italics: 1) Regarding the partnership with Cal Poly, how many of the docking stations will be on the Cal Poly Campus vs the number in SLO? And will there be docking stations in locations other than downtown (at least at first)? The RFP gives prospective bikeshare operators creativity to propose a system design that meets the City and Cal Poly’s minimum requirements and has the potential to be financially viable to operate as a for-profit enterprise in our community. As such, the City and Cal Poly have intentionally refrained from specifying the number of docking stations each agency would like to see sited in our respective jurisdictions and are looking forward to reviewing what prospective operators consider to be a viable system design for a three-year pilot bikeshare program. Initial community feedback on bikeshare dock locations showed support for docks to be located at various locations outside of downtown including at the airport, hospitals, railroad station, open space trailheads, shopping centers, and new residential developments such as San Luis Ranch, Avila Ranch, and Righetti Ranch. Additional stations on private property including those mentioned above will be highly encouraged but will involve an agreement between private property owners and the vendor, not the City. Staff are open to docking stations being located outside of the downtown core as long as there is stakeholder support and sufficient active transportation infrastructure connecting to those locations. Additionally, the location of docking stations will be determined by spacing constraints to ensure that there are no conflicts with ADA, utilities, or other obstructions. Given this, most stations will likely be in the downtown area and Cal Poly campus at least for the beginning of the program. Item 7d. Authorize Release of RFP for a Shared Public Bicycle Program Page 2 2) In the table on page 125 of the packet, we have designated the Office of Sustainability to have quite a few responsibilities. I do not see a designated contact at Cal Poly who will fulfill their responsibilities from their perspective. Who will be their designated point of contact to ensure that they fulfill any necessary responsibilities on their end? Will those be outlined in an MOU? The designated point of contact at Cal Poly will be Transportation and Parking Services. Marlene Cramer is currently the Director of Transportation and Parking Services. 3) I am concerned with greater availability of bike share bikes on the Cal Poly campus, and no added education, the chances of injury and accidents involving students could increase. Will Cal Poly be assisting with education on bike safety and helmet use on campus with the implementation of this bike share program? Bike education and safety of all bikeshare users is a priority of the City, Cal Poly, SLOCOG, and most importantly, any prospective bikeshare operator in our community. As such, the RFP awards additional points to proposals that provide a robust educational component to their programs. The bikeshare program operating in neighboring Santa Cruz county contractually obligates the operator to provide six free educational events about bike safety each year. To complement any educational offerings provided by a future operator, the City and Cal Poly will continue to promote existing programs offered by Bike SLO County and County Public Health, as well as Cal Poly’s Week of Welcome on- boarding opportunities. Additionally, Cal Poly Transportation and Parking Services holds informational sessions on the importance and rules of bike safety throughout the year. During bike month (May) Cal Poly offers at least one bike event per week. These events normally include information and resources on where and how to bike safely on campus and in the surrounding community. Cal Poly Transportation and Parking Services will also staff informational booths at multiple Cal Poly student and community events throughout the year. These informational booths give students resources such as handouts, web sources, and physical items to give students more knowledge about where and how to ride a bike on campus. TAPS holds these informational booths at events such as the Cal Poly Open House, Cal Poly SLO Days, and the Cal Poly Resource Fair throughout the year. SLO Days has multiple different sessions starting from June through August of every year and we present the programs at every session throughout. On social media, Cal Poly Transportation and Parking Services have partnered with the California Office of Traffic Safety to bring the ‘Go Safely Mustangs’ campaign to campus. This campaign talks about and displays the bike safety that needs to be adhered to on campus. Cal Poly also has bike safety signage posted at multiple locations on campus. These signs talk about bike safety gear, following the rules of the road, using the bike lane, and looking out for others. Item 7d. Authorize Release of RFP for a Shared Public Bicycle Program Page 3 4) On page 124 it states that the operator will be required to promptly remove bikes left on sidewalks or elsewhere. What exactly is “promptly”? Should that be defined in the RFP? As currently conceived in the RFP, specific operational standards for a future bikeshare program would be codified in a Service Level Agreement that would be negotiated with the chosen Operator. Response times for various complaints, including bicycles left in the public right of way, would be defined in that agreement. The City anticipates requiring the same level of service contractually obligated by the City of Santa Barbara, which mandates that bicycles abandoned in the right of way must be placed in a dock or otherwise removed from the right of way within one hour of a complaint. Santa Barbara’s contractual agreements further codify remedies for recouping costs and staff time through setting a fee if a bike is not removed by the Operator and is impounded. 5) During the ATC meeting, a few ideas were suggested for adding to the RFP that I do not see added: a. Should we require, or give extra points to vendors that provide wayfinding (in apps or otherwise) to help people find the safest routes for biking? b. Should we provide extra points to vendors that will provide a percentage of proceeds from their revenue to come back to the city to help support improved bike infrastructure? (perhaps even 1-5% or profits could help us improve our network) a. The RFP does provide additional evaluative points for optional elements including “wayfinding signage and/or other methods for riders to easily locate docking stations on the go”. Given that wayfinding signs are an official traffic control device requiring City approval, it is not recommended that wayfinding be a required element of the RFP. b. Similar to the previous question, staff would welcome a percentage of proceeds to fund bicycle infrastructure but does not recommend it as a required element of the RFP, given the likelihood vendors would be willing to provide it for a no fee program. If desired, staff could add profit sharing and/or a per-dock fee to the additional evaluative criteria section.