Active SLED Opportunity · CALIFORNIA · PLANNING & DEVELOPMENT SERVICES

    Design of Quiet Zone Improvements at Churchill Avenue, Meadow Drive, and Charleston Road crossings

    Issued by Planning & Development Services
    cityRFPPlanning & Development ServicesSol. 260942
    Open · 14d remaining
    DAYS TO CLOSE
    14
    due May 27, 2026
    PUBLISHED
    Apr 28, 2026
    Posting date
    JURISDICTION
    Planning &
    city
    NAICS CODE
    541330
    AI-classified industry

    AI Summary

    The City of Palo Alto requests proposals from qualified firms to design Quiet Zone improvements at three Caltrain at-grade crossings, including preparation of construction documents and coordination with regulatory agencies.

    Opportunity details

    Solicitation No.
    260942
    Type / RFx
    RFP
    Status
    open
    Level
    city
    Published Date
    April 28, 2026
    Due Date
    May 27, 2026
    NAICS Code
    541330AI guide
    Agency
    Planning & Development Services

    Description

    The City of Palo Alto is soliciting proposals from qualified design and engineering professionals to provide Plans, Specifications, and Engineer’s Estimates (PS&E) for the construction of Quiet Zone improvements at three existing at-grade railroad crossings along the Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board (PCJPB), also known as Caltrain. The proposed Quiet Zone will ultimately include all four at-grade rail crossings within the City.

     

    The scope of services includes preparation of construction documents, technical specifications, and cost estimates, as well as coordination and securing required approvals from the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), PCJPB/Caltrain, and Union Pacific Railroad, as applicable, for the establishment or amendment of a Quiet Zone.

    Consultant Qualifications

    The preferred Consultant team shall demonstrate experience and expertise in the following areas:

    • Rail corridor and at-grade crossing design
    • Railroad signal timing, preemption, and interconnect systems including Positive Train Control (PTC) and wireless crossing systems
    • Design of railroad improvements, including gate arms, signal equipment, signal cabinets, and interconnections
    • Civil engineering design related to roadway, pedestrian, and utility improvements
    • Community outreach, stakeholder coordination, and public meeting facilitation

    Background

    Background:

    The City of Palo Alto is soliciting proposals from qualified consulting firms to provide professional services for the implementation of a railroad Quiet Zone at existing at-grade crossings along the Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board (PCJPB), also known as Caltrain. The proposed Quiet Zone will include all four at-grade rail crossings within the City.

    The City previously engaged a consultant to conduct an initial study to identify required improvements and to develop conceptual plans necessary to establish a Quiet Zone along the Caltrain corridor. This Quiet Zone study is included as Attachment A. The study identified and council approved staff to proceed with four quadrant gate systems at the following three crossings in order to establish a Quiet Zone along the entire corridor within the City:

    • Churchill Avenue (USDOT No. 754998E)
    • Meadow Drive (USDOT No. 755010S)
    • Charleston Road (USDOT No. 755011Y)

    In addition, a separate study was previously conducted in coordination with the City of Menlo Park for the at-grade crossing at Palo Alto Avenue (Alma Street) (USDOT No. 754992N). Since completion of that study, the City has designed and constructed the identified improvements and is currently in the final stages of Quiet Zone implementation at this crossing. Improvements at this location primarily included installation of a non-traversable median island, signage, and pavement striping. The improvement plans for this effort are included as Attachment B.

    Project Details

    • Reference ID: RFP196802
    • Department: Transportation
    • Department Head: Philip Kamhi (Chief Transportation Official)

    Important Dates

    • Questions Due: 2026-05-13T20:00:00.000Z

    Evaluation Criteria

    • Quality of the Proposal (Required) (10 pts)

      Quality and completeness of proposal

    • Proposed Solution (Required) (10 pts)

      Quality, performance and effectiveness of the solution, goods and/or services to be provided by the Proposer

    • Experience (Required) (10 pts)

      Consultant or contractor’s experience, including the experience of staff to be assigned to the project, with engagements of similar scope and complexity

    • Cost (Required) (10 pts)

      Proposed cost to the City

    • Financial Condition and Stability (Required) (10 pts)

      Consultant or contractor’s financial condition and stability

    • Timely Performance (Required) (10 pts)

      Consultant or contractor’s ability to perform the contract within the time specified

    • Prior Record of Performance for Government Agencies (Optional) (10 pts)

      Consultant or contractor’s prior record of performance with the city or other local, county or state agency

    • Ability to Provide Ongoing Services (Optional) (10 pts)

      Consultant or contractor’s ability to provide in the future any maintenance, repairs, parts and/or services

    • Compliance (Required) (10 pts)

      Consultant or contractor’s compliance with applicable laws, regulations, policies (including city policies), guidelines and orders governing prior or existing contracts performed by the consultant or contractor

    • Other (Optional) (10 pts)

      If other factors or factors the City deems relevant please provide specific criteria here.

    • Quality of the Proposal (Required) (20 pts)

      Quality and completeness of proposal

    • Proposed Solution (Required) (15 pts)

      Quality, performance and effectiveness of the solution, goods and/or services to be provided by the Proposer

    • Experience (Required) (10 pts)

      Consultant or contractor’s experience, including the experience of staff to be assigned to the project, with engagements of similar scope and complexity

    • Cost (Required) (10 pts)

      Proposed cost to the City

    • Financial Condition and Stability (Required) (5 pts)

      Consultant or contractor’s financial condition and stability

    • Timely Performance (Required) (10 pts)

      Consultant or contractor’s ability to perform the contract within the time specified

    • Prior Record of Performance for Government Agencies (Optional) (5 pts)

      Consultant or contractor’s prior record of performance with the city or other local, county or state agency

    • Ability to Provide Ongoing Services (Optional) (5 pts)

      Consultant or contractor’s ability to provide in the future any maintenance, repairs, parts and/or services

    • Compliance (Required) (10 pts)

      Consultant or contractor’s compliance with applicable laws, regulations, policies (including city policies), guidelines and orders governing prior or existing contracts performed by the consultant or contractor

    • Experience with Railroad and other Public Agencies (10 pts)

      Experience working with Caltrain, California Public Utilities Commission & Federal Railroad Administration in obtaining permits and agreements required for the project

    Submission Requirements

    • Business Type (required)

      Please indicate the type of business that your company will continue operating as.

    • Business Type Follow-Up (required)

      If you indicated "Other" on the previous question, please explain here.

    • Year of Incorporation (required)

      Please indicate the year of incorporation (if applicable). If not incorporated, please indicate such.

    • State Incorporated (required)

      In what state was your company incorporated?

    • Business In California (required)

      When was your company authorized to do business in the State of California?

    • Qualifications of Firm - Experience of Firm (required)

      Please download the below documents, complete, and upload. For additional instructions on this form, please see the section of this RFP titled "Proposal Content and Format" and the subsection titled "Qualifications of the Firm".

    • Department of Industrial Relations Registration (required)

      It has been indicated that this contract will require prevailing wage. Please provide your DIR Registration Number at this time.

    • Contractor's License (required)

      Please provide your California Contractors License Number at this time.

    • Proposal (required)

      Please Upload your Technical Proposal here. Upload fee proposal separately in the next step.

    • Proposal (without Cost) (required)

      Please upload your Technical Proposal without fees/costs here. You will be uploading the fee/cost portion of your proposal separately in another step.

    • Separate Cost File (required)

      The fees/costs portion of your proposal should not be attached with the rest of your Proposal and should be attached separately here using the document provided. Please download, update and review before uploading your fee/cost information here.

    • Evidence of Financial Stability-REQUIRED SUBMITTAL (required)

      Please upload your Evidence of Financial Stability 

    • Additional Information

      If any of your previous answers required additional information to be submitted or provided, please upload all such information here.

    • Proposer Confirmation (required)

      By confirming, the submission of a proposal shall be deemed a representation and certification by the Proposer that they have investigated all aspects of the RFP, that they are aware of the applicable facts pertaining to the RFP process, its procedures and requirements, and they have read and understand the RFP. No request for modification of the proposal shall be considered after its submission on the grounds that the Proposer was not fully informed as to any fact or condition.

      Confirmation by the Proposer represents and warrants that he or she has the legal capacity and authority to bind the Company stated on the RFP submittal.

    • Division (required)

      What Division of the Department owns this project?

      NOTE: Do NOT enter the word "Division" with your entry. If you intend for the procurement to state "Engineering Division" then simply type "Engineering".

    • Brief Project Description (required)

      Fill in the blank:

      The City of Palo Alto is seeking proposals from qualified firms to provide services for _______________.

      Example:
      janitorial maintenance in various facilities including but not limited to waste removal, sweeping and mopping and polishing floors, cleaning and disinfecting surfaces, restocking paper towels and toilet paper in restrooms, and replacing air fresheners.

    • Project/WBS#

      Separate from the Project ID (Bid/RFP#), has a project or WBS # been assigned? If so, please provide.

    • Work Order #

      If a Work Order # has been assigned, please provide at this time.

    • Contract and Payment Method (required)

      How will payment for this contract be structured?

    • Multi-Year Contract (required)

      Is this request expected to result in a multi-year contract? If so, how many years? Or is this a one time contract? Or would you like to specify some other answer? If you select "Other", please specify in follow-up question.

    • Multi-Year Contract ("Other") (required)

      When asked if this was a multi-year contract, you selected "Other". Please specify here.

    • Qualifications of Firm Experience of Firm Requirement(s) - Required (always yes) (required)

      Is there an experience requirement or multiple experience requirements for this contract/project?

    • License or Certification (required)

      Is the awarded proposer for this RFP required to possess a valid State of California Contractor's License or a Professional Certification of some kind?

    • Prevailing Wage (required)

      Will prevailing wage requirements apply to this project?

    • Certified Payroll Frequency (required)

      Would you like to check Certified Payroll Records weekly rather than within 10 days of a given request?

    • Pre-Bid/Proposal?

      Will there be a pre-bid/proposal meeting or conference scheduled for this solicitation?

    • Pre-Bid/Proposal Attendance

      Since you have indicated there will be a pre-bid/proposal meeting or conference, will attendance be mandatory or non-mandatory?

      Please note that mandatory attendance requires all those submitting a bid or proposal to attend and those not in attendance will be unable to submit a responsive bid or proposal.

    • Electronic Line Items (required)

      Would you like to have bidders respond to an electronic pricing table instead of uploading a separate sheet or series of pricing sheets?

    • Separate Pricing Sheet(s) (required)

      If you are NOT using the Electronic Pricing Table option, will you want your bidder to separate a Price Proposal from the rest of their Response? You'll want to do this if you open your bids initially WITHOUT showing price for any number of reasons, and then come back in after a technical evaluation to unseal pricing later.

    • Innovations (required)

      Do you wish to allow Proposers to suggest technical or procedural innovations that may assist in providing better service?

    • Prior Performance as Criteria (required)

      Is Contractor's prior record of performance with the City or other government agencies required for evaluating proposals for this solicitation?

    • Future Services as Criteria (required)

      Is Contractor's ability to provide future maintenance, repairs, parts and/or services required for evaluating proposals for this solicitation?

    • Independent Contractor? (required)

      Will Service Provider be an independent contractor and will a Live Scan be required?

    Key dates

    1. April 28, 2026Published
    2. May 27, 2026Responses Due

    AI classification tags

    Frequently asked questions

    SLED stands for State, Local, and Education. These are solicitations issued by state governments, counties, cities, school districts, utilities, and higher education institutions — as opposed to federal agencies.

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