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Home My WebLink About03/04/2003, C2 - SOUTH HIGUERA SIDEWALK SPECIFICATION NO. 90263 councit Mmhm°aw j ac,Enaa Repoat Itm Number CITY O F SAN LUIS O B I S P O FROM: Michael D.McCluskey,Public Works Director Prepared by: Daniel Van Beveren;Associate Engineer SUBJECT: South Higuera Sidewalk Specification No. 90263 CAO RECOMMENDATION 1. Approve plans and specifications for"South Higuera Sidewalk, Specification No. 90263". 2. Authorize staff to advertise for bids. 3. Authorize a budget transfer of$12,900 from the CIP Reserve account into the project budget. 4. Authorize the CAO to _award the project if the primary bid portion is less than the Engineer's Estimate of 307,900. DISCUSSION The portion of Higuera Street adjacent to the Sutcliffe Lawn Memorial Park (San Luis Cemetery) from Elks Lane to the Wheeler Smith Mortuary does not currently contain a sidewalk (See Attachment #1 for project location). As an area of moderate pedestrian activity, the need for a sidewalk along this location was identified in 2001 when the City of San Luis Obispo applied for and received a State grant of $279,000 for the construction of a new sidewalk at this location. This State grant contains a deadline for project award of May 8, 2003. This project has also been identified as a component of the Major City Goal of Street and Sidewalk Maintenance as discussed in the 2001-03 Financial Plan on page B-33. Currently, most of South Higuera contains existing sidewalks on both sides of the street. On this west side of the street, the north end of the existing sidewalk ends at the driveway to the mortuary. The new sidewalk would continue northerly from this point to the intersection of Elks Lane. With a difference in elevation of approximately 5 feet between the proposed sidewalk and the adjacent cemetery ground surface, a combination of retaining walls and slope modifications are required. For safety purposes, a protective railing will be installed along the back of the new sidewalk. The approved style of railing to be used is the "Mission Style Railing", which is a City Engineering Standard and has been used recently on other city projects such as the Creek Walk, and historically along walkways in and around Mission Plaza. Early in the project design_ process, staff identified a needed pedestrian improvement for the intersection of Elks Lane and Higuera Street. Vehicles traveling southbound along Higuera Street typically do not need to slow down to make the gradual right turn onto Elks Lane. Pedestrians crossing at this location are faced with fast moving traffic as well as a crossing distance of over 20 meters. Additionally, there are no handicap ramps at this intersection. The proposed improvement to this intersection is a realignment of Elks Lane to create a 90-degree intersection with Higuera Street. Because of this modification, a dedicated deceleration lane will be 110 " I Council Agenda Report—South Higuera Sidewalk, Spec. #90263 Page 2 added for southbound traffic on Higuera Street. A new crosswalk and handicap ramps will be added to this intersection along with new curb, gutter and sidewalk throughout the intersection of Higuera Street and Elks Lane. These improvements will provide for a much shorter pedestrian crossing at this intersection. Attachment#2 to this report illustrates this proposed modification. As stated earlier in this report, the State deadline for project award is May 8, 2003. If this project is not awarded by that date, then the City would lose the $279,000 State grant.. To reduce that possibility, the bid sheet is set up with `Bid Alternates" which can be eliminated, if needed, from the project at the time of the project award. In the event that the bidding process does not result in any responsible bids within the total engineer's estimate of$307,900, staff proposes to award only the portion of the project from the southern edge of the Elks Lane intersection southward to the end of the existing sidewalk adjacent to the mortuary. For this purpose, that portion of the project will be bid as the "primary" project. The improvements on the southern edge of the Elks Lane intersection will be bid as "alternate #1", and.the improvements to the northern edge of the intersection will be bid as "alternate #2". In the event that the total amount of the lowest qualified bid, including one or both alternates, is less than the engineer's estimate of $307,900, then the project would be awarded including those alternates. If only the primary bid portion of the lowest qualified bid is less than the engineer's estimate, then only the primary portion of the,project would be awarded. CONCURRENCES 1. A Notice of Exemption has been filed with the Community Development Department. 2. The "Mission-Style Railing" was selected by the Community Development Department as an appropriate railing for this project. FISCAL IMPACT Estimated Construction Costs Engineer's Estimate Primary Portion of Project $307,900 Contingencies $16,000 Materials Testing and Inspection $5,000 Total (Excluding Bid Alternates) $3289900 Estimated Construction Costs of Bid Alternates Alternate##f $20,000 Alternate#2 $24,000 Amount of Allocated State Funds Available $279,000 General Fund Money Budgeted in 2001-03 Financial Plan $37,000 Additional Amount Requested from CIP Reserve Account $12,900 Total Project Budget $3289900 Note: The current balance of the CIP Reserve Account is $12,900. ea-a Council Agenda Report—South Higuera Sidewalk, Spec.#90263 Page 3 ALTERNATIVES Council could elect not to authorize an increase in the project budget, leaving the existing budget unchanged at $316,000. The engineer's estimate to be used for awarding the project (the amount that the lowest responsible bid must be less than) would need to be reduced to $295,000. The bidding process could still proceed with this lower project budget and engineer's estimate. In the unlikely event that the lowest responsible bid, including all alternates, came in less than $295,000 the project could be awarded with all alternates included. Otherwise, the most likely result of not increasing the project budget would be exclusion of the pedestrian improvements to the Elks Lane intersection, which were not included in the original project scope or estimate. Finally, another result of not increasing the project budget might be that the lowest responsible"primary bid"would come in higher than the modified engineer's estimate of $295,000. This would result in a recommended Council action at the upcoming April 15' Council meeting authorizing the transfer of additional funds into the project account so that the City does not lose the State grant of $279,000. ATTACHMENTS 1. Project Vicinity Map 2. Elks Lane&Higuera Street Realignment Available in the Council Read File: e Plans and Specifications for"South Higuera Sidewalk, Specification#90263" BCOUNCQ,AGENDA REPORTS V002\CAR 90263—South Higuein Sidewalk �-3 AT TACHMENT 1 r PROJECT LOCATION SOUTH HIGUERA SIDEWALK VICINITY MAP (ATTACHMENT #1) ea- + HMEM'2 I I ► I i I EXIS77NG EDGE OF CURB 43 I I LOCATION OF NEW EDGE OF CURB f Q' v GJ = 9RAPSC SUM o aciiHam) 20 30 p m 1� ELKS LANE & HIGUERA STREET INTERSECTION REALIGNMENT (ATTACHMENT #2)