Agenda Date: 05/03/2016
Subject:
Title
Resolution approving a contract with Charlier Associate, Inc. for Littleton’s Downtown and Littleton Boulevard Streetscape Project
Body
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Presented By: |
Jocelyn Mills, Community Development Director |
POLICY QUESTION:
Does city council support a contract with Charlier Associates, Inc. for the Downtown and Littleton Boulevard Streetscape Project?
BACKGROUND:
The goals of the streetscape project are to partner with stakeholders and community members to establish a roadmap to ensure Littleton’s Downtown continues to thrive as the heart of the community, and to enhance the Littleton Boulevard corridor. Specific objectives for the project include:
1. Focus on Littleton’s unique character
2. Strategize connectivity, access and circulation, including parking in downtown
3. Integrate transportation with land use
4. Establish street improvements (including street furniture, trees, lighting, etc.)
5. Create an action-oriented strategic approach for future improvements
The project will result in recommendations for short term and long term implementation to improve transportation safety (vehicular and pedestrian), accessibility, parking, pedestrian and bicycle opportunities, sidewalk aesthetics and other transportation elements for the downtown streets and along the Littleton Boulevard corridor.
Charlier Associates, Inc. would be retained to assist the city with the project. The contract and scope of work are attached.
On February 9, 2016, Jim Charlier of Charlier Associates provided an overview of the project to a joint study session of the city council and planning board, and answered questions about the associated tasks. At that time, the city council and planning board indicated a strong desire to move the project forward. The presentation materials are attached.
STAFF ANALYSIS:
In 2015, Civitas was considered for the project. At that time, the focus was on the street improvements and traffic. Upon further evaluation and research, staff is proposing to expand the scope of the project to include visioning, functionality, and technical aspects of the rights of way in downtown and along the Littleton Boulevard corridor and recommends Charlier Associates due to their expertise in municipal transportation planning.
The project will be conducted through a variety of workshops, field walks, and community dialogues. Final recommendations with graphics showing conceptual designs for each downtown and Littleton Boulevard block will outline multimodal (vehicles, transit, bikes, pedestrians) functionality, parking strategies, roadway safety improvements, and land use analysis. Each component of the project (outlined in the scope of work as “tasks”) will build upon the prior step to create a complete approach to address the streetscapes for downtown and the Littleton Boulevard corridor.
The project timeframe is seven months.
FISCAL IMPACTS:
The $200,000 project appropriation is included in Ordinance 02-2016 on proposed second reading tonight.
STAFF RECOMMENDATION:
Based on the expertise and extensive background of Charlier Associates and their team, staff recommends approval of the contract with Charlier Associates, Inc. for the Downtown and Littleton Boulevard Streetscape Project.
PROPOSED MOTION:
Proposed Motion
I move to approve the resolution approving a contract with Charlier Associates for the Downtown and Littleton Boulevard Streetscape Project, subject to, and contingent upon, approval of Ordinance 02-2016.