Section 1: Agency Overview
Placer County Transportation Planning Agency (PCTPA) is the Regional Transportation Planning Agency (RTPA) for Placer County's western slope (excluding the Tahoe Basin). Placer County spans from the Sacramento suburbs to the crest of the Sierra Nevada Mountains and the Nevada State Line. PCTPA also serves as the Congestion Management Agency (CMA), Airport Land Use Commission (ALUC), and Local Sales Tax Authority. The agency staffs the South Placer Regional Transportation Authority (SPRTA), and the Western Placer Consolidated Transportation Services Agency (WPCTSA). It is governed by a nine-member Board of Directors that consists of an elected official from each of Placer's six incorporated cities/town, two County Supervisors, and one citizen representative.
Section 2: Project Background, Summary and Description
The purpose of this RFP is to procure consultant services to prepare a Comprehensive Safety Action Plan (CSAP) for the City of Colfax. PCTPA and the City of Colfax jointly applied to the U.S. Department of Transportation for a Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) grant. It was awarded in late 2025 and subsequently became effective at the end of August 2026. Although the study area is the City boundaries of Colfax, PCTPA has agreed to administer the contract to conduct the CSAP in close coordination with City staff. A map of the study area is included as Attachment A.
About Colfax
The City of Colfax (population 1,995) is a small, rural community located along Interstate 80 between Sacramento and Lake Tahoe. It is in the Sierra Nevada Mountains at an elevation of approximately 2,400 feet. Colfax is a common stop-over for travelers between the Bay Area and Sacramento to the Reno/Tahoe area and is near popular recreation areas. Households in Colfax have a median income that is 35% less than that of Placer County and 23% less than the California household median income. As a rural area, it suffers from limited access to jobs and services and is vulnerable to wildfires.
Safety Issues at Hand
According to the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), there was one fatal crash on Colfax roads between 2018 and 2022. It involved a motorcyclist who was under the influence of alcohol and hit a fixed object. Data from the Transportation Injury Mapping System (TIMS) from UC Berkeley further shows that there was a total of 16 injury crashes on Colfax roads between 2018 and 2022. Twenty-five percent of these crashes resulted in either a fatality or a serious, life-threatening injury, compared with 12% in Placer County as a whole. In 2021, Colfax was ranked 4th among similar-sized cities statewide for number of alcohol-involved crashes, motorcycle crashes, and nighttime crashes. Despite Colfax's small size, the city sees an average of 60,000 cars and trucks drive through it on I-80 every day, with this number increasing on weekends and during high recreation periods. During large snow events in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, I-80 is frequently shut down or subject to chain controls, often beginning in Colfax. This creates a unique situation where thousands of cars and trucks are forced to turn around at Colfax or wait out the storm in this small city. It can create traffic congestion and conflicts on local roads that were not designed to handle the higher volume of vehicles during these events. The two frontage roads of I-80 in Colfax (S. Auburn Street and Canyon Way) are used to turn around traffic and are in extremely poor condition. Some Colfax roads are steep with narrow shoulders. The City plans to use the Colfax CSAP as a tool to analyze and address each of these issues and help Colfax eliminate fatalities and reduce severe injury crashes on their roads. The City has never completed a comprehensive analysis of traffic safety concerns specific to its small community. Due to its population size, it receives little state and federal funding for transportation. The Colfax CSAP should identify quick build, low-cost countermeasures that can be implemented in the near term, as well as larger projects positioned to compete for state and federal grant funding. It is intended to create an actionable plan with clear steps for implementation, including funding sources to build projects and reduce fatalities and severe injury crashes. It will also ensure that the City becomes eligible for more state and federal grants to address traffic safety. The CSAP should meet the requirements of the SS4A Self-Certification Eligibility Worksheet.
Section 3: Requested Scope of Work/Services
Task 1: Project Management
Consultant will coordinate with PCTPA, and the City as needed throughout the study, including regular check-in meetings at an interval to be mutually agreed upon. Consultant should note in their proposal what level of check-in meetings are assumed in their budget.
Task 2: Data Collection/Existing Conditions
Consultant will review and collect existing crash data from the Fatality and Injury Reporting System Tool (FIRST), TIMS (UC Berkeley), and SWITRS (California Highway Patrol) from the most recently available 10 years for analysis. Other data, such as roadway characteristics, bicycle/pedestrian facilities, demographic/equity data, existing planning documents, and more should be collected and summarized. Under this task, Consultant will also review existing City policies/standards and make suggestions for changes to prioritize transportation safety.
Task 3: Stakeholder & Community Engagement
Consultant should propose a robust, but reasonable amount of stakeholder and community engagement that could include pop-up events, workshops, online surveys, and stakeholder interviews. Informing the project will be a Project Development Team (PDT) inclusive of PCTPA staff, City staff, first responders (police and fire), schools, community leaders, community groups, private sector businesses, and more. The PDT will meet as needed and Consultant should note in their proposal the number of PDT meetings assumed. The project team and PDT will also set goals for reduction of fatalities/severe injury crashes and consult with City leaders on the development of the goals.
Task 4: Data Analysis
Consultant will analyze 10 years of crash data on City of Colfax roads and identify collision factors, top collision types and associated locations, hot spot areas, and high injury corridors. The team should also consider locations identified through stakeholder/community engagement that may not have collisions but experience similar characteristics to those that do (particularly roadways that handle traffic during major snow events). These will be cross referenced with demographic, land use, and roadway characteristics data. At a minimum, the top five corridors and top five intersections within the City of Colfax will be identified. Note that some crash factors may have to be analyzed at the five-year data level as required by the Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP). However, as Colfax has few crashes due to its small size, the study will look at 10 years of data to better understand crash trends.
Potential safety improvements could include but are not limited to the following: South Auburn Street Safety Improvements (striping, reflective lighting, severe potholes, targeted shoulder improvements); Canyon Way Safety Improvements (roadway delineation, curve warning signs, lighting, severe potholes, roadside protection or targeted widening); Winter freeway closure traffic safety improvements (designated diversion routes, clearer directional signs, identified turnaround locations and intersection improvements, enforcement of no parking areas); Citywide curve and nighttime visibility projects (reflective signs, curve chevrons, refreshed centerlines and edge lines, lighting); Priority intersection safety improvements (signing, pavement markings, lighting, pedestrian improvements); Pedestrian crossing and sidewalk-gap improvements; Bicycle safety connections; Roadside safety improvements (guardrail installation or upgrades where warranted).
Task 5: Countermeasure Identification
Identify low cost, systemic countermeasures based on proven strategies (utilizing DOT's Crash Modification Factor Clearinghouse and Caltrans' Local Road Safety Manual) and specific locations where more substantial improvements may be necessary. Emphasis on low-cost and grant-competitive projects.
Task 6: Project Development & Implementation Plan
Group countermeasures into safety projects suitable for state and federal grants (HSIP, SS4A Implementation), include planning level cost estimates and maps, identify potential funding sources and implementation timelines, and outline monitoring and annual reporting procedures. Optional deliverable: prepare at least one HSIP or SS4A Implementation grant if budget allows; consultant should address feasibility within budget.
Task 7: Draft and Final Colfax CSAP
Produce a Draft Colfax CSAP Report, finalize after review by PCTPA staff, City staff, and PDT, and present to the PCTPA Board and Colfax City Council.
Section 4: Contact Person
All questions and correspondence regarding this RFP should be directed in writing and/or email to:
Cory Peterson, Senior Transportation Planner
Placer County Transportation Planning Agency
2260 Douglas Blvd., Suite 130
Roseville, CA 95661
cpeterson@pctpa.net
Section 5: Proposal Content and Organization
Proposals should be limited to the elements outlined in this RFP. Proposals should be no longer than 15 pages single-sided. Resumes and project fact sheets may be placed in an appendix and are not subject to the page limit. Proposals shall consist of a technical proposal (items 1-7) and Exhibit 9-L (item 8). Provide technical transmittal letter, project understanding, approach and management plan and staffing plan, work plan and schedule, at least three reference projects, and a detailed cost proposal.
Cost Proposal requirements: As this project is funded by federal funds, costs shall be segregated to show hours for each staff person, rates and classifications, and administrative overhead. Costs for each milestone or deliverable shall be provided. If subcontractors are used, identify any subcontractor markup. Failure to provide detailed cost breakdowns will be cause for rejection. The total consultant budget for this contract is an amount not to exceed $100,000; the final negotiated cost will be a not-to-exceed maximum payment.
Section 6: Federal Requirements
Exhibit 9-L (Bidder's/Proposer's List) is required and must be submitted by all proposers. Title VI, Equal Employment Opportunity, DBE participation encouragement, and other federal and state nondiscrimination and procurement requirements apply. Additional federal compliance language, insurance, audit, reporting, and contract provisions are included in the sample Master Agreement and Exhibits.
Section 6: Proposal Evaluation and Selection
A review panel composed of members of PCTPA, City of Colfax, and other agency representatives will evaluate proposals. Evaluation criteria and points: Project Understanding (10), Approach and Staffing Plan (20), Work Plan and Project Schedule (30), References (15), Value for Services Provided (Cost) (25) — total 100 points. Interviews may be held. Negotiations will begin with the top-ranked firm. PCTPA reserves the right to reject any or all proposals or to waive minor irregularities.
Tentative Milestone Schedule (as listed in RFP):
- Pre-Submittal Office Hours (optional, by appointment): October 20, 2026
- Release of Request for Proposals: November 6, 2026
- Deadline for Submission of Questions (4:00 p.m.): November 20, 2026
- Responses to Questions Issued: November 23, 2026
- Proposals Due (4:00 p.m.): December 15, 2026
- Evaluation Period: December 16 - January 8, 2027
- Interviews, if required: Week of January 25, 2027
- PCTPA Board Contract Approval (tentative): February 24, 2027
- Contract Execution: February 2027
- Anticipated Begin Work: March 1, 2027
Section 7: Master Agreement
The selected firm must enter into PCTPA's Master Agreement for consultant services. The Master Agreement and associated Exhibits (Attachment B: Exhibit 9-L; Attachment C: Sample Consultant Services - Master Agreement and Forms) contain detailed terms and federal/state compliance requirements, insurance, indemnification, audit and reporting obligations, DBE procedures, prompt payment requirements, payment procedures, and other standard contractual provisions.
Section 8: RFP Attachments
Attachment A: Map of Study Area
Attachment B: Required Exhibit 9-L
Attachment C: PCTPA Sample Consultant Services - Master Agreement and Forms
