1
MASSACHUSETTS PEDESTRIAN TRANSPORTATION PLAN
CONSULTANT SOLICITATION
PLAN PURPOSE AND NEED
The Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) requires an updated
Massachusetts Pedestrian Transportation Plan (Plan) that incorporates state-of-the-practice
pedestrian planning and design concepts in order to better meet the needs of our current
customers who walk, and to build walking by those who now travel by other means. MassDOT
also requires that the Plan serve as a resource to: support MassDOT’s growing priorities such
as accessibility, equity, health and safety, and mode shift; address the need to reduce
Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions; strengthen the design and construction of Complete
Streets; and, anticipate our customers’ changing demographics in order to improve access and
mobility. With this Plan MassDOT and our statewide, regional and municipal partners will have a
resource which: demonstrates the walking environments our customers desire and how to
achieve them, and substantiates why walking and attractive walking environments strongly
serve Massachusetts’ transportation objectives.
CONSULTANT SOLICITATION
This Consultant Solicitation provides the project purpose, framework, and outcomes that should
be addressed as part of the solicitation by the MassDOT Office of Transportation Planning
(Planning). Note that this solicitation is not an explicit Scope of Services. Prospective
consultants are invited to provide a proposed Scope of Services to be undertaken as part of the
project. Technical proposals should include proposed tasks and approaches, keeping within the
framework and outcomes described below. Refer to the Required Plan Elements and Technical
Proposal for specific instructions for responding to this solicitation.
DESCRIPTION OF SERVICES
INTRODUCTION
FRAMING: The Plan will provide explicit guidance on where and how to develop walking
facilities, and to achieve a more attractive pedestrian environment. In order to have greater
public and policy impact, the entire planning effort needs to be framed within the larger policy
context, specifically: mode shift to increase walking, in conjunction with transit, as appropriate;
environmental and climate protection; public and personal health, access to opportunities and
services, including work-home utilitarian travel; access to other services such as health and
food resources; economic vitality; and emergency and disaster resiliency.
PURVIEW: Within the larger policy, value and vision context, the Plan must specify that different
areas, namely urban, suburban, exurban and agricultural/rural, require different treatments. In
addition, the Plan must address at least three different, though interrelated, reasons for
movement and mobility: utilitarian travel (commuting, shopping, socializing, home-to-work-toplay connections on seamless networks; recreational travel (including tourism); and, mobility for
vulnerable and less/non-motorized populations (seniors, students, and people with disabilities).
2
ADDITIONAL PLAN CHARACTERISTICS
The Plan is intended to define and determine opportunities for improved and enhanced walking
environments within the Commonwealth which can be implemented through infrastructure
improvements by MassDOT and/or our statewide, regional, and municipal partners, and others.
The Plan will be an innovative resource for planning and designing high-quality walking
environments to support MassDOT’s priorities, including: mode shift; GreenDOT Implementation
Plan; GHG reduction targets; sustainable economic development; equity; accessibility and
mobility improvements; public health; pedestrian safety; community character; and,
demographic changes among our customers.
The Plan will be organized to be a high-impact, easy to navigate, graphics-based document
designed to manifest the importance of walking in the Commonwealth, and to promote the type
of walking environments MassDOT customers desire. The Plan will build considerably from
Complete Streets (CS) design concepts, will examine a variety of context-based walking
environments, and provide visual references for planners and designers of the types of walking
environments that should be pursued in future infrastructure projects throughout the
Commonwealth.
There will be four primary objectives of this project: a clear demonstration of why walking is
important in Massachusetts; the identification of high-quality walking environments our
customers desire through an innovative customer engagement process; identification of
immediately implementable strategies to achieve high-quality walking environments; and, the
production of an actionable plan that is a key resource for planners and designers, at MassDOT
as well as our statewide, regional and municipal partners.
The Plan will be a technical product of Planning, which will be responsible for all Plan oversight
and coordination. Assistance and information from various MassDOT Divisions including the
MBTA, Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs), Regional Transit Authorities (RTAs),
municipal partners and state agencies as appropriate will be coordinated through Planning and
provided as resources allow. Completion of this Plan is expected to take approximately twelve
(12) months after initiation.
The following outline details the development of a proposal to be completed by prospective
consultants. Prospective consultants are encouraged to develop both an approach to
completing the framework, and the methodology for executing that approach. The selected
consultant will be responsible for all tasks, subtasks and products, unless otherwise specifically
indicated. Prospective consultants are encouraged to include in their response innovative
approaches and tasks that enable improved and immediately implementable results, faster
completion of the Plan, and/or more economical performance of the Plan. Prospective
consultants are expected to prepare a detailed schedule that lays out tasks and subtasks, key
milestones, and assumptions about baseline data and other supporting information in a manner
that is responsive to the overall project schedule.
FRAMEWORK
The Plan will address the following four primary objectives:
•
Demonstrate clearly the importance of walking for promoting the health of individuals
and communities in the Commonwealth.
3
This element should include the impacts attractive walking environments have on
MassDOT priorities including, but not limited to: MassDOT’s mode shift goal; the
GreenDOT Implementation Plan; GHG reduction targets; sustainable economic
development; equity; accessibility and mobility improvements; pedestrian safety; public
health; community character; and demographic changes among our customers.
•
Identify the attractive walking environments our customers desire and value in the
Commonwealth.
Context-based walking environment typologies will be identified in an innovative
customer engagement process. State-of-the-practice pedestrian planning and design
concepts and practices, drawn from a wide range of current resources, that MassDOT
and our statewide, regional and municipal partners should be using will also be
documented. The documentation of the context-based walking environment typologies
will be done graphically and will give visual reference to the types of improvements that
should be included in future infrastructure improvements.
•
Identify immediately implementable strategies to achieve attractive walking
environments.
Opportunities and strategies for MassDOT and our statewide, regional and municipal
partners to design and build better pedestrian facilities will be identified. These
opportunities and strategies may include: improvements in infrastructure project
planning, scoping and/or designing; project funding opportunities; prioritization,
performance management, and partnerships; and, improved maintenance policies and
procedures.
•
Produce an actionable plan that is a central resource for planners and designers, on
both the local and regional levels.
The Plan will be a high-impact, easy to navigate, graphics based-document. Emphasis
will be placed on providing Plan readers with accessible resources so that the Plan is
received and perceived as a valuable resource that is readily utilized.
REQUIRED PLAN ELEMENTS
MassDOT requires that certain tasks be included in any proposed Scope. These tasks include:
•
Project Management / Plan Coordination: Specify the manner in which administrative
aspects of the Plan will be managed. This includes: monitoring, organizing, and
controlling assignments; work effort; submission of deliverables; task and subtask
schedule; and, spending for all project tasks. These tasks will be performed under
direction from MassDOT Planning in order to ensure that all work performed is of high
quality and delivered on time and on budget, and incorporates a dynamic and accurate
project budget, scope, and schedule.
•
A thorough consideration and analysis of Environmental Justice (EJ) and Title VI
communities to provide insight to MassDOT on the impacts walking environments have
on those communities (both positive and negative). Opportunities to benefit these
4
communities, or to limit and mitigate burdens, shall be elevated in the Plan outcomes.
The prospective consultant shall explicitly detail how they anticipate they will thoroughly
and meaningfully include and consider EJ and Title VI communities in their proposed
tasks and potential Plan outcomes.
•
The final Plan shall also fully incorporate MassDOT’s GreenDOT Policy and
Implementation Plan into Plan outcomes, and fully support MassDOT’s Mode Shift Goal.
The prospective consultant shall explicitly detail how they anticipate fully incorporating
MassDOT’s GreenDOT Policy and Implementation into the tasks they propose and
potential plan outcomes. Attention to climate change adaptation for existing facilities
should also be included.
•
Public and Stakeholder Participation Process. The development and execution of a
public and stakeholder participation plan is vital to the Plan process. This element will
entail planning, preparation, support, and follow-through for various meetings and
briefings, including attending meetings of stakeholder groups, agencies and elected
officials. Prospective consultants should also be prepared to provide strategic guidance
on how best to accomplish this outreach effort. Also included will be the preparation and
distribution of print and electronic media. The selected consultant will provide
appropriate material to OTP in support of the Plan’s website. Technical work presented
at meetings will be drawn from work performed under the various technical tasks
elsewhere in this document. Unless otherwise directed, prospective consultants will
attend all public meetings, take notes, and track comments. All materials provided must
be in a Section 508 compliant accessible format. Prospective consultants shall discuss
and propose options for structuring the public process for an innovative engagement
with MassDOT’s customers (including meetings, workshops, interviews, and focus
groups) in their proposals.
•
Plan Appendices shall be provided, and will address, at a minimum, the linkage of land
use and walking, prioritization of pedestrian projects using gap methodology, and,
development of more effective and encompassing pedestrian count mechanisms in
order to better assess mode shift outcomes.
All other potential tasks should be proposed as part of the Technical Proposal.