RFP 26-80 On-Call Transportation Planning & Design Services

SOLICITATION FOR:
RFP # 26-80 On-Call Transportation Planning & Design Services
CITY OF SOMERVILLE, MASSACHUSETTS
RELEASE DATE: 6/10/2026
QUESTIONS DUE: 6/24/2026 by 12PM EST
DUE DATE AND TIME: 7/8/2026 by 3PM EST
Anticipated Contract Award 8/5/2026
Est. Contract Commencement Date 9/1/2026
Est. Contract Completion Date 8/31/2029
Est. Renewal Years (If Applicable)
DELIVER TO:
City of Somerville
Procurement & Contracting Services
Attn: Felisa Garate
Senior Procurement Manager
fgarate@somervillema.gov
93 Highland Avenue
Somerville, MA 02143
1

CITY OF SOMERVILLE, MASSACHUSETTS
Enclosed You Will Find a Request for Proposal For:
RFP # 26-80 On-Call Transportation Planning & Design Services
SECTION 1.0
GENERAL INFORMATION ON PROPOSAL PROCESS
1.1 General Instructions
Copies of the solicitation may be obtained from the Procurement & Contracting Services
Department on and after 6/10/2026 per the below-noted City Hall hours of operation.
City Hall Hours of Operation:
Monday - Wednesday 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Thursday 8:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Friday 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
All Responses Must be Sealed and Delivered To:
Procurement & Contracting Services Department
City of Somerville
93 Highland Avenue
Somerville, MA 02143
It is the sole responsibility of the Offeror to ensure that the proposal arrives on time at the
designated place. Late proposals will not be considered and will be rejected and returned.
Proposal Format:
Submit one (1) sealed proposal package (with two sealed envelopes, one for the price and one for the
technical proposal); it must be marked with the solicitation title and number and must be original.
In an effort to reduce waste, we discourage the use of 3-ring binders.
Responses must be sealed and marked with the solicitation title and number.
All proposals must include all forms listed in the Proposers Checklist (and all documents included or
referenced in Sections 2.0 - 4.0). If all required documents are not present, the proposal may be
deemed non-responsive and may result in disqualification of the proposal unless the City
determines that such failure(s) constitute(s) a minor informality, as defined in Chapter MGL
30B.
A complete Proposal must also include a cover letter signed by an official authorized to bind the
Offeror contractually and contain a statement that the proposal is firm for ninety (90) days. An
unsigned letter, or one signed by an individual not authorized to bind the Offeror, may be
disqualified.
The Offeror's authorized official(s) must sign all required proposal forms.
The Price Form in Section 3.0 must be completed. No substitute form will be accepted unless
otherwise stated. Pricing must remain firm for the entire contract period.
All information in the Offeror's response should be clear and concise. The successful response will
be incorporated into a contract as an exhibit; therefore, Offerors should not make claims to which
they are not prepared to commit themselves contractually.
The successful Offeror must be an Equal Opportunity Employer.
The City of Somerville values a diverse workforce and believes it contributes to a work product and

customer experience that best reflects the community in our city. Applicants are highly encouraged
to include any certifications and documents that recognize the diversity of the Offeror's work force,
including ownership of the offering firm/organization, executive leadership, management, and
employees proposed for the work in Somerville, including diversity of sub-consultants. Please use
the supplier diversity form (see Section 4.0) with supporting documentation to share your
diversity data with the City.
1.2 Proposal Schedule
Key dates for this Request for Proposals:
RFP Issued 6/10/2026
Deadline for Submitting 6/24/2026 by 12PM EST
Questions to RFP
Proposals Due 7/8/2026 by 2PM EST
Anticipated Contract Award 8/5/2026
Est. Contract Commencement 9/1/2026
Date
Est. Contract Completion Date 8/31/2029
Responses must City of Somerville
Procurement & Contracting Services
be delivered by Attn: Felisa Garate
93 Highland Avenue
to:
7/8/2026 by 2PM EST Somerville, MA 02143

1.3 Submission Instructions
If you are submitting your proposal online via Bidexpress.com, then you do not need to also submit a sealed
proposal package as instructed below. Email is not an acceptable method of submission of bids.
Please submit two sealed envelopes, all within one sealed proposal package, with the following contents and
marked in the following manner:
Contents of Sealed Proposal
Marked As
Package
Envelope 1 Non-Price Technical Proposal: To Be Marked: Non-Price Proposal RFP # 26-80
Shall Include (1) original and one (1) electronic On-Call Transportation Planning & Design
copy. [Electronic copies are to be submitted on USB drives Services
and are to be saved in Adobe Acrobat format. ("Read only"
files are acceptable.)]
Envelope 2 Price Proposal: Shall Include one To Be Marked: Price Proposal RFP # 26-80 On-
(1) original and one (1) electronic copy. Call Transportation Planning & Design Services
[Electronic copies of Price and Non-Price Technical proposal
can be submitted on the same USB drives but as separate files]
Please send the complete sealed package to Felisa Garate
the attention of : Senior Procurement Manager
Procurement & Contracting Services
Somerville City Hall
93 Highland Avenue
Somerville, MA 02143
Methods of Bid Submission
Bidders may submit bids in any of the following ways. All bids will be timestamped and must be
received no later than due date and time.
1) Sealed bids can be sent to City Hall through the US Postal Service or other delivery service (e.g.
FedEx, UPS).
2) BidExpress.com is an online bidding platform where bidders can submit all required documents.
The fee to use this service is approximately $50.00 unless your company has a subscription with
BidExpress. You can access the bid package and forms via the City of Somerville BidExpress page
at: https://www.bidexpress.com/businesses/33100/home
3) For any technical assistance while submitting the online bid, please contact the BidExpress
Customer support team at www.bidexpress.com.
(Note: Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 30B requires that price proposals must be separate from technical
proposals. Therefore, please make no reference to pricing in the non-price technical proposal. Failure to
adhere to this requirement will result in disqualification.
Qualifications & Experience
The Offeror shall include qualifications and experience of the firm (or sole proprietor). The Offeror shall
identify the year the firm was established, the total number of employees currently employed, and the number of
employees focused on this engagement. This section should also describe work that is similar in scope and
complexity that the Offeror has undertaken in the past. A discussion of the challenges faced and solutions

developed are highly recommended. The Offeror may include any additional literature and product brochures.
The Quality Requirements Form (Section 2.0), or set of basic business standards, must be submitted in the
sealed proposal.
Price Proposal Format
Price Summary Page (see Section 3.0)
Proposal Prices to Remain Firm
All proposal prices submitted in response to this solicitation must remain firm for 90 days following the
proposal opening.
Price Submission
All prices must contain the unit rate as requested on the proposal price form in this solicitation. All prices are to
include delivery, the cost of fuel, the cost of labor, and all other charges related to the products or services
listed. Prices are to remain fixed for the contract period of performance.
1.4 Questions
Questions are due: 6/24/2026 by 12PM EST
Questions concerning this solicitation must be delivered in writing to:
Felisa Garate
Senior Procurement Manager
Somerville City Hall
Procurement & Contracting Services Department
93 Highland Avenue
Somerville, MA 02143
Or emailed to:
fgarate@somervillema.gov
Or faxed to:
617-625-1344
Answers will be sent via an addendum to all Offerors who have registered as proposal holders. Proposers are
encouraged to contact the Procurement & Contracting Services Department to register as a proposal document
holder to automatically be alerted as to addenda as they are issued. It is the responsibility of the Offeror to also
monitor the proposal portal on the City's website for any updates, addenda, etc. regarding that specific
solicitation. The web address is: https://www.somervillema.gov/procurement
If any proposer contacts City personnel outside of the Procurement & Contracting Services Department
regarding this proposal, that proposer may be disqualified.
1.5 General Terms
Estimated Quantities
The City of Somerville has provided estimated quantities, which will be ordered/purchased over the course of
the contract period. These estimates are estimates only and not guaranteed.

Proposal Signature
A response must be signed as follows: 1) if the Offeror is an individual, by her/him personally; 2) if the Offeror
is a partnership, by the name of the partnership, followed by the signature of each general partner; and 3) if the
Offeror is a corporation, by the authorized officer, whose signature must be attested to by the clerk/secretary of
the corporation (& with corporate seal).
Time for Proposal Acceptance and City Contract Requirements
The contract(s) will be awarded within 90 days after the proposal opening. The time for award may be extended
for up to 45 additional days by mutual agreement between the City of Somerville and the Offeror that is most
advantageous and responsible. The Offeror's submission will remain in effect for a period of 90 days from the
response deadline or until it is formally withdrawn, a contract is executed, or this solicitation is canceled,
whichever occurs first. The Offeror will be required to sign a standard City contract per the City's general terms
included herein as Appendix A.
Holidays are as follows:
New Year's Day Martin Luther King. Jr. Day Washington's Patriots' Day
Birthday
Memorial Day Juneteenth Independence Day Independence Day Labor Day
Indigenous Peoples' Day Veterans' Day Thanksgiving Day Thanksgiving Friday
Christmas Eve (half day) Christmas Day
Please visit http://www.somervillema.gov/ for the City's most recent calendar. *Under State Law, all holidays
falling on Sunday must be observed on Monday.
If the awarded Offeror for their convenience desires to perform work during other than normal working hours
or on other than normal work days, or if the Offeror is required to perform work at such times, the Offeror
shall reimburse the City for any additional expense occasioned the City, thereby, such as, but not limited to,
overtime pay for City employees, utilities service, etc. UNLESS otherwise specified in these provisions,
services will be performed during normal work hours. When required services occur on holidays, work will be
performed on either the previous or following work day, unless specified otherwise.
Unforeseen Office Closure
If, at the time of the scheduled proposal opening, the Procurement & Contracting Services Department is closed
due to uncontrolled events such as fire, snow, ice, wind, or building evacuation, the proposal due date will be
postponed until 2:00 p.m. on the next normal business day. Proposals will be accepted until that date and time.
In the event of inclement weather, the Offeror is responsible for listening to the media to determine if the City
has been closed due to weather.
Changes & Addenda
If any changes are made to this solicitation, an addendum will be issued. All proposers on record as having
picked up the solicitation will be alerted via email as to the posting of all addenda. The City will also post
addenda on its website (https://www.somervillema.gov/procurement). No changes may be made to the
solicitation documents by the Offerors without written authorization and/or an addendum from the Procurement
& Contracting Services Department.
Modification or Withdrawal of Proposals, Mistakes, and Minor Informalities
An Offeror may correct, modify, or withdraw a proposal by written notice received by the City of Somerville
prior to the time and date set for the proposal opening. Proposal modifications must be submitted in a sealed
envelope clearly labeled "Modification No.__" to the address listed in Section 1. Each modification must be

numbered in sequence and must reference the original solicitation. After the proposal opening, an Offeror may
not change any provision of the proposal in a manner prejudicial to the interests of the City or fair competition.
Minor informalities will be waived or the proposer will be allowed to correct them. If a mistake and the
intended proposal are clearly evident on the face of the proposal document, the mistake will be corrected to
reflect the intended correct proposal, and the proposer will be notified in writing; the proposer may not
withdraw the proposal. A proposer may withdraw a proposal if a mistake is clearly evident on the face of the
proposal document, but the intended correct proposal is not similarly evident.
Right to Cancel/Reject Proposals
The City of Somerville may cancel this solicitation, or reject in whole or in part any and all proposals, if the
City determines that cancellation or rejection serves the best interests of the City.
Unbalanced Proposals
The City reserves the right to reject unbalanced, front-loaded, and conditional proposals.
Brand Name "or Equal"
Any references to any brand name or proprietary product in the specifications shall require the acceptance of an
equal or better brand. The City has the right to make the final determination as to whether an alternate brand is
equal to the brand specified.
Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT)
For EFT payment, the following shall be included with invoices to the point of contact:
* Contract/Order number; Contractor's name & address as stated in the contract;
* The signature (manual or electronic, as appropriate) title, and telephone number of the Offeror's
representative authorized to provide sensitive information;
* Name of financial institution; Financial institution nine (9) digit routing transit number;
* Offeror's account number; Type of account, i.e., checking or saving.
Other Applicable Laws
In addition to applicable federal and state laws, the City has several ordinances that apply to the
services requested in this contract. Such ordinances include but are not limited to: living wage
ordinance, ordinance to protect vulnerable road users,[1] and ordinance to protect against wage
theft. Workplace safety is of paramount importance to all workers who perform services on City
contracts and all bidders must certify that they will disclose any citations they may have
received for OSHA violations.
[1] The ordinance to protect vulnerable road users only applies to contracts where the
vendor and/or its subcontractors use large vehicles in the City of Somerville to perform
the work of the contract.
Notice and Certification Pursuant to Somerville Wage Theft Ordinance
All Offerors, bidders, respondents have an affirmative duty to report to the Procurement &
Contracting Services Department and provide a copy of any criminal or civil judgment,
administrative citation, or final administrative determination, order, or debarment, relating to
wage theft, against the bidder or any of its subcontractors entered within the five years prior to
bid submission.
If you are the successful bidder, you and any of your subcontractors have an affirmative duty to
report any criminal or civil judgment, administrative citation, final administrative determination,

order, or debarment against the bidder or any its subcontractors while your contract with the
City is in effect, within five business days of receipt.
You may not contract with the City if you have been either voluntarily or involuntarily debarred
by the federal government, any agency of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts or any other
state for the entire term of the debarment.
You may not use any subcontractor who has been debarred by the federal government or any
state government during the period of that subcontractor's debarment.
You must post notices in accordance with M.G.L. c. 151 16 in a conspicuous location
accessible to all of their employees in English and the primary language of the employee(s) at
the particular workplace.
If not all employees would have reasonable access to the notice if posted in a single location,
then you must inform the purchasing agent or other City Department of the number and location
of postings in order to ensure that you provide reasonable notice to all of your employees.
As a condition of this bid, the bidder (a.k.a. Offeror, respondent) hereby certifies that neither the
bidder nor any of the bidder's subcontractors have been subject to a criminal or civil judgment,
administrative citation, final administrative determination, order, or debarment resulting from a
violation of M.G.L. c. 149, M.G.L. c. 151, or 29 U.S.C. 201 et seq. within five years prior to
bid submission.
In the alternative, the Bidder hereby discloses a criminal or civil judgment, administrative
citation, administrative determination, or debarment, within five years prior to bid
submission. Included with the Bid is a copy of the same, in addition to documentation
demonstrating that all damages, fines, costs, and fees have been paid.
1.6 Evaluation Methodology
Qualified proposals will be reviewed and rated by an evaluation committee ("the Committee") composed of
employees of the City. The City reserves the right to involve an outside consultant in the selection process.
Comparative Evaluation Criteria
The Committee shall use the comparative evaluation criteria included in Section 2.0 to evaluate the responsibility
and responsiveness of all proposals that already meet the minimum quality requirements. For each proposal, the
Committee will assign a rating of Highly Advantageous, Advantageous, Not Advantageous, or Unacceptable to
each of the corresponding comparative evaluation criteria.
Final selection will be based upon the evaluators' analysis of the information and materials required under the RFP
and provided by the Offerors in their submissions. The City may request additional information from the Offerors to
ensure that the Offeror has the necessary resources to perform the required services. The Committee may choose to
interview Offerors. If interviews will be conducted, the City will notify the Offerors, either by e-mail or telephone, of
the date, time, and place for their interviews and any other pertinent information related thereto.
Selection Process
The City will award the contract(s) to the most responsive and responsible Offeror(s) whose entire proposal
(technical and price) is deemed to be the most advantageous. The City reserves the right to reject any and all
proposals if it determines that the criteria set forth have not been met.

RFP # 26-80
SECTION 2.0
RULE FOR AWARD /
SPECIFICATIONS/SCOPE OF SERVICES
Rule for Award
The City intends to award multiple on-call as-needed contracts to multiple proposers for different areas
of expertise. The contract(s) shall be awarded to the responsible and responsive proposer(s) submitting the most
advantageous proposal response, taking into consideration all evaluation criteria, the Applicant's/Applicants'
relevant experience, demonstrated Areas of Expertise in sample work submitted and client references, and staff
capacity to meet the City's needs for the proposed work in a timely fashion, as well as the proposed rates and
pricing for such work. The contract will be awarded within ninety (90) days after the proposal opening. The
time for award may be extended for up to 45 additional days by mutual agreement between the City and the
most highly advantageous and responsible offeror.
Background
The City of Somerville, Massachusetts (City) is seeking to engage the services of qualified firms (Offerors)
with demonstrated expertise and experience in transportation planning, design, and/or engineering to provide
high quality professional services in a timely, cost-effective manner on an "as needed" basis.
As a result of this Request for Proposals (RFP) process, the City intends to pre-qualify multiple firms with the
ability to produce some or all of the services and deliverables listed in this document. Over a three-year period,
the City will invite such pre-qualified "on-call firms" to submit task orders tied to project-specific scopes of
work as needs arise.
Interested applicants are invited to submit qualifications and rate schedules that would apply over a three-year
contract term. A contract will be awarded to each firm that the City determines meets the pre-qualifications.
Such contracts will be for a not-to-exceed amount per firm. On-Call Services contracts range from $100,000 up
to $1,000,000 over a three-year period. This amount may be amended based on City needs. It is not guaranteed
that each awarded contract will be expended to its full not-to-exceed amount. Purchase orders will be issued
toward these not-to-exceed amounts as specific projects are identified and negotiated based on specific task
orders.
Services and Deliverables
Firms do not have to have expertise in all the listed categories but should have expertise in at least one of the
categories listed below:
* Street Design
Intersection or corridor alternatives analyses
o
Conceptual/schematic plans (up to 25% design) for major street reconstruction projects
o
Colorized illustrative plans for quick-build projects
o
* Construction Plans, Details, and Specifications
Stamped sign & pavement markings plans for quick-build projects
o
Stamped construction plans for small-scale streetscape items. This could include individual
o
intersections, crosswalks, or bus stops but would not include construction plans at the corridor
(multi-block) level
Stamped traffic signal plans
o
Transit signal priority plans
o

Specifications and details
o
Cost estimates
o
* Construction Bidding & Administration
Preparation of documents necessary for contract bids
o
Oversight of active construction sites to ensure contractor conformance with general construction
o
practices and city requirements, including logging and documentation of completed work as
needed
* Existing Conditions Investigation and Documentation
Survey conducted by a licensed Professional Land Surveyor (PLS). Services may include, but are
o
not limited to property research, record research, utility company research, on-the-ground survey
and utility structure survey
* Traffic Analysis
Synchro modeling
o
Warrant analysis
o
Automated traffic counts and turning movement counts
o
Compliance (crosswalk yielding, red light running, etc.)
o
Video review
o
* Transportation Planning
Long-Range Transportation Planning Studies
o
Transportation Impact Assessments
o
Transportation Demand Management projects and programs
o
Parking counts and curb utilization data collection/analysis
o
Pedestrian, bicycle and transit passenger counts
o
Parking demand models
o
GIS mapping support
o
Walk audits
o
* Outreach & Engagement
Street renderings
o
Public meeting support with materials, planning, and/or attendance/facilitation
o
Street outreach including customer intercept surveys
o
Placemaking services, including public art installation
o
Sub-Consultants and Multiple Consultants
Qualifications Submissions may include multiple members of individual firms and sub-consultants, however,
the City reserves the right to utilize the services of individual members of a firm or sub-consultants as needed.
The City may award multiple contracts and will seek to ensure that the full scope of planning and conceptual
design services required will be provided by the set of approved respondents. Applicants awarded contracts will
be used on an as-needed basis to supplement and support City Staff, working together as a specialized "Project
Team" customized specifically for each neighborhood. The make-up of each team may be different from
neighborhood to neighborhood.
Non-Price (Technical) Proposal Format
Responses must be submitted in accordance with the requirements set forth in this solicitation. Results of the
proposal review process will be utilized to establish a preliminary ranking of the proposers. The City may
interview the top ranked candidates as part of the evaluation process. All information in the technical proposal
should be organized and presented as directed below. Your Non-Price Proposal response should contain all
forms outlined in the Proposers Checklist (Section 4.0). Responses shall be prepared on standard 8.5 x 11 inch
paper (charts may be landscaped but must be on 8.5 x 11 inch paper) and shall be in a legible font size (12). All
pages of each response shall be appropriately numbered (and with consecutive page numbering across tabs).