TITLE
Recommendation to adopt resolution authorizing City Manager, or designee, to execute a contract, and any documents necessary including any necessary amendments, with CTY, Inc., of New York City, NY, for mobility data collection sensors and data reports, at no cost to the City, for a maximum six-month pilot period. (Citywide)
DISCUSSION
City Council approval is requested to enter into a contract with CTY, Inc. (CTY), for the provision of mobility data collection sensors and data reports.
The data provided by CTY will be used to better understand mobility choices at the locations where the sensors are placed, including bicycle and pedestrian counts, mode split, and paths of travel. The pilot project will help the City achieve its Vision Zero goals by providing real-time insights and valuable information on how the roadway and public spaces are used during the pilot period, while ensuring data privacy and security, and anonymity of road users. This data will be used to evaluate existing safety concerns and determine future infrastructure projects or programs. The data will supplement existing annual bicycle and pedestrian counts, and other vehicle count and speed information, collected at several locations across the city.
This project aligns with the Smart City Initiative by allowing the City and a technology company to collaborate to address a civic challenge through the use of emerging technology, with a focus on improving safety for the most vulnerable road users. The six-month pilot period will be at no cost to the City.
This pilot opportunity is part of the City’s 2021 Smart City Challenge, which follows the principles of a challenge-based procurement, where City staff articulate their challenge without prescribing how they want it solved. It was powered by the Startup in Residence (STIR) program (<https://www.cityinnovate.com/stir/start>), which enables City departments to collaborate with technology companies to address some of our civic problems. The pilot projects are intended to provide City staff with the opportunity to quickly understand how we might adopt technology and leverage partnerships to drive innovative service delivery for our residents. Interested proposers were requested to provide summarized information about their proposed solution, with the full scope and details of the solution finalized through subsequent rounds of interviews and scoping conversations.
The pilot opportunity was advertised via a variety of methods using the STIR platform and our City platform, with 215 potential proposers specializing in data collection notified of the pilot opportunity. Information about the pilot opportunity was additionally made available through the Technology and Innovation Department’s Smart City Program, on the seventh floor of City Hall and the program’s website at www.longbeach.gov/smartcity <http://www.longbeach.gov/smartcity>, and the Purchasing Division, on the sixth floor of City Hall, and the Division’s website at www.longbeach.gov/purchasing <http://www.longbeach.gov/purchasing>. An announcement was also included in the Purchasing Division’s weekly update of Open Bid Opportunities, which is sent to 35 local, minority-owned, and women-owned business groups. There were 25 responses received by the May 7, 2021 deadline. The determination was made that CTY, of New York City, NY, was the most qualified firm to participate in the pilot program.
This Smart Cities Challenge was intended to solicit innovative solutions to collect and analyze quantitative and qualitative data for active transportation and micromobility projects. For this pilot, it was imperative the solution chosen both collected new data and presented the data in a digestible and useful way. CTY was selected because they offer an innovative sensor technology that detects and differentiates all road users by transportation mode and aggregates paths of travel to reveal how the transportation network is used at the intersection level. By achieving new standards of transparency and accountability, the Smart City Initiative will work to ensure all residents, regardless of technical ability, can trust the tools that are tested and deployed by City officials. This work will include investing in digital literacy, codifying robust privacy and data security standards, and partnering with communities to develop a collaborative approach to deploying civic technology.
City Charter Section 1807 permits the City to authorize and award negotiated contracts based on competitive proposals for electronic data processing and telecommunication equipment systems, subsystems and related materials, goods and services when authorized by a Resolution adopted by the City Council. In this case, a competitive process was provided and facilitated through the STIR platform.
Local Business Outreach
To align with the City’s outreach goal, Long Beach businesses are encouraged to submit proposals for City contracts. The Purchasing Division also assists businesses with registering on the PlanetBids database to download RFP specifications, and in this case, also provided assistance, as needed, regarding the STIR platform. The Purchasing Division is committed to continuing to perform outreach to local vendors to expand the bidder pool.
This matter was reviewed by Deputy City Attorney Amy R. Webber on September 27, 2021, Business Services Bureau Manager Tara Mortensen on September 16, 2021, and by Budget Management Officer Rhutu Amin Gharib on September 22, 2021.
TIMING CONSIDERATIONS
City Council action is requested on October 19, 2021, to provide a timely six-month maximum pilot period that would operate from December 1, 2021 through May 31, 2022.
FISCAL IMPACT
There is no fiscal or local job impact associated with this recommendation. The pilot services will be provided at no cost to the City. This recommendation has no staffing impact beyond the normal budgeted scope of duties and is consistent with existing City Council priorities.
SUGGESTED ACTION
Approve recommendation.
BODY
[Enter Body Here]
Respectfully Submitted,
ERIC LOPEZ
DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC WORKS
APPROVED:
THOMAS B. MODICA
CITY MANAGER