The Billings Metropolitan Planning Organization (Billings MPO) is requesting proposals from qualified firms or teams of firms with the appropriate expertise to develop a Safe Routes to School Study Update. The goals of the plan update are to enhance the safety of students traveling to and from school and increase the number of students walking or bicycling to school. This will be accomplished by identifying challenges that prevent students from doing so safely and identifying solutions to these challenges.

This is an update to the 2011 City of Billings Safe Routes to School Study which can be found online: https://www.billingsmtpublicworks.gov/DocumentCenter/View/180/SRTS-Report---FINAL-082411-PDF?bidId

The City of Billings will review and assess the RFP responses to determine if the response from solicited suppliers will meet the needs of the City of Billings.

The Safe Routes to School Study Update is identified in the 2021 Billings Urban Area Unified Planning Work Program (UPWP).

The UPWP is located at: https://ci.billings.mt.us/DocumentCenter/View/35416/UPWP-2021-Highway-and-Transit?bidId=

The Billings MPO is the largest municipality in Montana with a 2021 population of approximately 143,000 people. The City and Yellowstone County are governed by City Council, consisting of both the Council and Mayor, and the Yellowstone County Board of County Commissioners. The Yellowstone County Board of Planning represents the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO), which administers the transportation planning program for the City and County in the Billings Urban Area.

The previous Safe Routes to School Plan was developed by the City of Billings in two phases with half of Billings Public Schools elementary schools in each phase. Phase 1 was completed in 2010 and Phase 2 was completed in 2011. Since then, the school boundaries have changed, creating a need for an updated study. The initial study lists site characteristics, mode splits, issues/concerns, barriers/big picture issues, priority projects, other recommended improvements, and walking route maps for each school.

The Yellowstone County Board of Planning (YCBP) is the designated Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) for the Billings Urban Area. The MPO has identified the need to conduct a Safe Routes to School Study Update. The City of Billings Engineering Division completed a Safe Routes to School Plan for all elementary schools in Billings in 2011. Since that plan was completed, Billings Public Schools underwent boundary changes. The goals of the plan update are to enhance the safety of students traveling to and from school and increase the number of students walking or bicycling to school. This will be accomplished by identifying challenges that prevent students from doing so safely and identifying solutions to these challenges.

Below is a general outline of the anticipated scope of work. However, the final scope of work will be negotiated with the successful proposer.

This project will require the following Scope of Work and Documentation package to be completed within approximately 10 months of contract signing. The Study will include, but not be limited to the following:

SCOPE OF WORK

• Work with MPO staff to identify relevant studies. Provide a summary for the existing planning documents related to Safe Routes to School in the Billings community.
• Identify major obstacles and conflict areas children may encounter while walking or biking to school at all 22 Billings Public Schools elementary schools.
• Review current traffic patterns for pickup/drop off locations and how that affects bike/pedestrian flow.
• Correspond with school staff as needed.
• Examine short, medium, and long-term engineering solutions to improve pedestrian and bicycle traffic flow near all 22 elementary schools. Incorporate low-cost enhancements that can be implemented utilizing existing resources whenever possible.
• Develop maps to show improvements for .5-mile radius around the school as well as walking routes. Walking route maps exist for each school, but may need to be updated given the in-depth analysis conducted through this study.
• Develop planning-level cost estimates for improvements.
• Prioritize implementation of recommended improvements based on standardized criteria such as demand, safety, equity, input, and health, or based on other criteria determined by consultant team and project oversight committee.
• Provide an overview of any other suggestions related to the other five E's of Safe Routes to School: Engagement, Equity, Encouragement, Education, and Evaluation.

Consultant will be required to inform and solicit comments from the community through the Yellowstone County Board of Planning Public Participation Plan. The public participation plan can be found: https://ci.billings.mt.us/DocumentCenter/View/36538/21353_Billings-Public-Participation-Plan_FinalDraft

PLANNING STUDY DELIVERABLES

During and at the conclusion of the study the following items will be delivered:

• Weekly email updates of project status to City-County Planning Division. Project meetings as needed.
• Attendance at public meetings and meetings with the Technical Advisory Committee (TAC), Yellowstone County Board of Planning, Billings City Council, Board of Commissioners of Yellowstone County, and Policy Coordinating Committee (PCC) are required.
• Planning Study summarizing findings including maps, obstacles, conflict areas, solutions, prioritization rankings, and planning-level cost estimates.
• A project priority summary, outlining long-term and short-term projects and 15 full color copies of the study as well as electronic submittal of the document and executive summary that includes a friendly, web-based version.