Beacon - Draft RFP for Bicycle Master Plan Professional Services (vf).pdf

Request for Proposals City of Beacon Bicycle Master Plan

City of Beacon NY COB RFP No. 2026-007 September 29, 2026

Submission Deadline:

October 21, 2026 by 2:00 p.m.

Submit proposals by in-person, email or mail to:

Benjamin Swanson, City Administrator – bswanson@beaconny.gov

City of Beacon; One Municipal Plaza; Beacon, NY 12508 | 845.590.3000

Notice is hereby given that the City of Beacon (Beacon, or the City) is requesting proposals from qualified planners (“Respondent” “Consultant” or “Planner”) to develop a Bicycle Master Plan (Bike Plan), which will be a component of a broader City of Beacon pedestrian/bicycle plan.

I. BACKGROUND.

The City of Beacon is a thriving community of 15,000 residents, nestled between the Hudson River and the Hudson Highlands with express train service to Grand Central Terminal. Beacon was a bustling, self-contained factory town through the end of World War Two; but like most Northeast cities, it went through an extended period of economic decline. After resetting its vision and zoning in the 1990s, Beacon has gone through a dramatic transformation while maintaining its socioeconomic diversity: with a revived and historically preserved Main Street, a popular arts and culture hub, a destination for tourism, dining and outdoor activities, and a highly desirable place to live and raise a family.

The City has made much progress in systematically rebuilding its century-old infrastructure. This includes streets and sidewalks, which are generally narrow in the urban core around Main Street.

State Route 9D serves as the north-south entrance to the City, and connects the City with I-84 just a short distance beyond the northern City limit. Main Street has ADA curbs and crosswalks, with sharrows (shared lane markings) for bicycles. The long-delayed rehabilitation of State Route 52, the other primary City entrance, was just completed. The City has a “complete streets” ordinance, is a leader in modern zoning and planning, and has Silver Status (highest ranking) in the NYS Climate Smart Community program.

There is a planned rail trail, connecting the Beacon train station, parks, and Main Street (and eventually the Empire State Trail further east), with shovel-ready design plans expected in the next year. There is also a major project to build a linear park connecting Beacon and Cold Spring that is in design and construction. And the City has a multimillion dollar federally funded Complete Streets-style renovation project for Beekman Street, which connects the train station to Main Street and Route 9D.

mailto:bswanson@beaconny.gov

II. SCOPE OF SERVICES.

The Planner will produce a Bike Plan, which is expected to be a major component of a more comprehensive pedestrian/bicycle plan, several components of which have already been developed (see appendix). At a minimum, this work will include:

A. Reviewing relevant existing material and work provided by the City, including traffic volume and speed data1, bike counts, sidewalk inventory, rail trail feasibility study and engineering design plans, comprehensive plan, vehicular crash data2, similarly scoped Bicycle Plans and best practices developed for other Northeast communities, professional reports for best urban bikeway design3, et al.;

B. Interviewing and working with key City staff and officials;

C. Examining existing streets, trails, and paths, and planned connections;

D. Producing a network gap analysis that evaluates the City’s existing and planned bicycle and trail network, barriers/gaps, crash or safety conditions, topography, roadway width and right-of-way constraints, traffic conditions, and connections to key destinations;

E. Coordinating and conducting multi-stage public outreach, as well as engagement with other key institutional stakeholders, including New York State Department of Transportation, Metro-North Railroad, Scenic Hudson, and the Hudson-Highland Fjord Trail team;

F. Producing draft and final reports, which will include recommendations on:

− Identification of a connected citywide bicycle network including a map and description of proposed multiuse paths and bicycle routes, along with other proposed bicycle infrastructure such as intersection treatments, bicycle parking, signage/wayfinding, etc.;

− Recommendations for the appropriate facility type by route or corridor, where feasible (i.e., protected bike lane, conventional bike lane, bicycle boulevard, shared-use path, sharrows);

− Address feasibility and tradeoffs via consideration of right-of-way, on-street parking impacts, traffic operations, drainage, utilities, slopes/topography, pedestrian conflicts, property impacts, NYSDOT jurisdiction, and preliminary constructability;

− Prioritization of paths and routes, based on likely usage, strategic proximity to key infrastructure (schools, parks, libraries, transit hubs and bus stops, etc.) and destinations, estimated cost, availability of potential sources of funding, timing, and other funding priorities;

1 See DCNY | Traffic Data as one potential source for partial data.

2 See Crash Analysis Toolbox as one potential source for crash data via NYSDOT Clear Crash Database.

3 See Urban Bikeway Design Guide - NACTO as one potential source for best practice design guidance.

https://gis.dutchessny.gov/traffic-data/ https://www.dot.ny.gov/divisions/operating/osss/highway/crash-analysis-toolbox https://nacto.org/publication/urban-bikeway-design-guide/

− Identification of near-term projects that are strong candidates for state or federal grant funding, along with the applicable programs;

− Recommended education, enforcement or evaluation programs, or other policy and local ordinance recommendations (including whether and how to address emerging micromobility such as e-bikes and e-scooters);

− How the Bike Plan would fit into an overall pedestrian and bicycle plan, including what additional pieces may be needed for such plan; and

− Summary and evaluation of public input.

III. PLANNER QUALIFICATIONS.

A. Be a licensed planner, architect, or engineer in the State of New York, and if a corporate entity, licensed/permitted to do business in the State.

B. The Planner shall be a qualified firm or individual providing municipal planning services in New York State, with general experience in municipal planning, and preferably with specific experience in developing and/or implementing pedestrian, bicycle and complete street programs. Certification by the American Institute of Certified Planners is preferred.

C. At least five (5) years of relevant experience and demonstration of a history of municipal work in communities of similar size and complexity, as well as project completion in a timely manner.

D. Timely submission of a proposal response.

E. Submission of a complete proposal response, including all the materials set forth in this

RFP.

IV. GENERAL PROVISIONS.

This RFP, including any attachments, exhibits, and any amendments or addenda (collectively, the RFP) is subject to the rights reserved by the City, including, but not limited to the City’s right to:

A. Withdraw and/or cancel this RFP at any time and without prior notice before the final award of the contract;

B. Request clarification of any term or requirement of this RFP at any time before the award of the contract (Proposers may amend their proposals, as directed by the City, only if the City materially alters or amends this RFP after submission of proposals);

C. Extend any key dates or deadlines related to this RFP;

D. To award the contract with or without interviews or negotiations;

E. Reject any proposal that does not strictly conform to the requirements of this RFP, is incomplete, non-responsive, or fails to meet the minimum qualifications herein, except that the City may, in its sole discretion, waive what it deems to be informalities or non-material errors.

F. To conduct an interview(s) with any, all, or none of the proposers to aid in the evaluation process;

G. Negotiate potential contract terms and conditions with any proposer;

H. All materials developed under this RFP will be the property of the City; and

I. Unless authorized by the City, the consultant may not release, or use for its own purpose, any information developed under this RFP.

The City of Beacon shall not be liable or responsible in any way for any expenses incurred in the preparation of a proposal in response to this RFP. All information submitted in response to this RFP is subject to the Freedom of Information Law, Article 6 of the New York State Public Officers Law (“FOIL”), unless an exemption applies. Proposers are responsible for identifying any information in their respective proposal considered to be confidential and exempt from FOIL provided that the City shall have the final determination as to whether an exemption actually applies to the information. Please be advised, the City, however, is obligated to disclose information consistent with the requirements of FOIL per Public Officers Law § 87.

V. PROPOSAL REQUIREMENTS.

The following information is required and must accompany your proposal response:

A. Cover Letter: Provide a cover letter indicating your interest in performing the Scope of Services for the City. Include relevant information as necessary for the City to make an informed award of the contract related to the Scope of Services. Please also include any other relevant information you believe to be pertinent to the Scope of Services.

B. Narrative of Project Understanding: Provide a graphic display and/or written discussion with whatever details necessary to demonstrate an understanding of the Scope of Services sought by the City of Beacon.

C. Staff Plan: An identification of individuals associated with your firm to be assigned to this Scope of Services, their backgrounds and experience, and their areas and levels of responsibility. Brief resumes of such personnel should be provided.

D. Background information: For example, list years in business with a description of services offered, including size of firm, location, number and nature of professional staff to be assigned to the contract.

E. Experience Summary: Describe your firm’s experience with similar projects, including samples of completed work. Experience should be relevant to the development of bicycle master plans for municipalities and public entities for adoption by the governing body. A minimum of five (5) years of relevant experience is required.

F. Service Plan: Detailed, itemized plan of proposed services and expected meetings with City Staff and officials.

G. References: Respondents must provide a minimum of three (3) references, including names, titles, addresses, email addresses, and telephone numbers to allow the City to contact these references. For each reference, please indicate the type of work undertaken, the work product developed, and the services provided. References should be from work undertaken within the last five (5) years.

H. Project Schedule: Provide a proposed project schedule, identifying benchmarks and interim progress reports.

I. Additional Services: Identify and describe the other professionals, if any, who would be engaged in developing for recommendations to the City Council pertaining to the Scope of Services.

J. Fee Schedule: Provide a lump sum fee for the Scope of Services, including the fee for each stage of the project, and an estimate of direct expenses for travel, printing, meetings, and other expenses with a not-to-exceed limit. Provide an hourly rate schedule for work performed outside of the Scope of Services. The City reserves the right to negotiate fees and payment schedules with the selected respondent. The fee proposal should also include the number of hours anticipated for each staff member assigned to the project. The consultant will be compensated as each phase is completed. By submitting a proposal, proposers hereby agree their quoted fees shall remain valid for a minimum of ninety (90) days after the submission due date.

VI. RATING AND SELECTION CRITERIA.

A. Evaluation. The project will be awarded to the Planner whose proposal is determined to be the most qualified to work with the City of Beacon. The City will review complete proposal responses and evaluate each proposal in accordance with the evaluation criteria set forth in Section VI(C) below.

B. Interviews. The City of Beacon reserves the right to interview any, all, or none of the proposers. In the interview, if conducted, the City will be represented by the Mayor, City Administrator, City Planner, and City Engineer, and any other persons designated by the Mayor. Interviews may be conducted before or after the opening of sealed proposal responses. The purpose of the interview is to further assess the proposer’s ability to perform the Scope of Services, or to seek other information related to any other evaluation criteria.

The proposer’s lead individual, as well as all other key personnel to be assigned by the proposer shall attend and are expected to participate in the interview

C. Evaluation Criteria. Selection will be based upon the following criteria:

i. Relevant experience and qualifications…………………….….…30%

ii. Overall quality of the proposal and detail………………….…….30%

iii. Depth of firm resources……………………………….………...10%

iv. Cost proposal………………………………………….………...30%

D. The selected respondent is expected to contract with the City within 30 days of selection.

E. Notification of the City’s decisions will be provided to all respondents.

VII. DESIGNATED CONTACT.

All questions regarding this RFP shall be submitted in writing via email to the “Designated Contact”: Ben Swanson, at bswanson@beaconny.gov. Questions must include in the subject line “QUESTION – RFP for Bicycle Master Plan.” Questions submitted verbally or by other means shall not be considered. The City’s response to questions shall be in writing and provided to interested proposers no more than three (3) business days after the deadline for question submission has expired. The City’s responses will be provided to all of those who attend the mandatory site visit

VIII. PROPOSAL DUE DATE.

Proposals shall be accepted until WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2026, at 2:00 P.M. in the City of Beacon City Administrator’s Office, City Hall, One Municipal Plaza, Beacon 12508.

All proposals may be mailed or delivered in-person in a sealed envelope to the attention of Ben Swanson, City Administrator. Proposers must mark their proposal response envelope as “RFP Response – Bicycle Master Plan Services” on the outside of the response package. Proposers must provide one (1) original, three (3) copies of the proposal response, and one (1) USB Thumb Drive with a digital copy.

Proposals may also be electrically submitted to via email. If submitted via email, please include “RFP Response – Bicycle Master Plan Services” in the subject line. The file size must not exceed 25MB. An email message will be sent confirming receipt of the proposal. If you do not receive confirmation, you may email the Designated Contact.

Each proposer is responsible for the successful delivery and receipt of their proposal response.

Proposals must arrive at the time and place specified herein. Please leave ample time for submission. Late proposals, no matter the cause of their lateness, will NOT be accepted.

Faxed proposals will NOT be accepted. A proposer may, after submitting a proposal, amend its proposal by submitting an amended proposal, clearly labeled “Amended RFP Response – Bicycle Master Plan Services,” as long as the amended proposal is submitted on or before the due date and time.

mailto:bswanson@beaconny.gov

IX. INSURANCE REQUIREMENTS.

Prior to commencement, the Planner shall, at their sole expense, maintain the following insurance, and furnish to the City standard certificates of insurances:

A. Worker’s Compensation and Employers Liability Policy for New York State;

B. Commercial General Liability Policy, minimum $1,000,000 per occurrence / $2,000,000 aggregate for bodily injury and property damage;

C. Comprehensive Automobile Policy, minimum $1,000,000 Bodily Injury and Injury and Property Damage liability; and

D. Professional Liability, minimum $1,000,000.

Additional conditions and provisions:

• NYS Workers Comp (C-105.2 or U-26.3) and NYS Disability (DB-120.1) Insurance Certificates must also be provided. If you are exempt from having Workers Comp or NYS

• Disability insurance, Form CE-200 will need to be provided for each. ACORD Certificate will not be accepted as proof of insurance.

• Name City of Beacon, and its officers, officials, employees, volunteers, and representatives as Additional Insured on CGL, Auto, and umbrella. This shall be shown on the Certificate of Insurance.

• The contractor/vendor’s insurance shall provide that the Additional Insured coverage shall apply as primary and non-contributory to any insurance maintained by the City of Beacon.

• To the extent permitted by law, the selected Planner and/or its insurance provider shall provide a Waiver of Subrogation provision in favor of City of Beacon is included in CGL, Auto, and WC.

All carriers must be licensed in New York State and A.M. Best rated A VII or better. Certificates must name the City as an additional insured, and specify minimum thirty-days written notice by registered mail prior to cancellation or expiration.

X. EXCEPTIONS.

All exceptions to the requirements of the RFP must be clearly identified and explained in writing.

The City of Beacon RFP does not guarantee that a respondent will be selected. The City is not responsible to any respondent for the cost of their proposal preparation.

XI. CERTIFICATION.

Any firm, business, corporation, limited liability company, partnership, or limited liability partnership, or other corporate entity submitting a proposal shall submit a Certificate of Corporate

Authority authorizing the individual submitting the proposal to bind the entity. However, by submission of a Proposal to this RFP, the individual or entity submitting such proposal, hereby understands and agrees that RFP and all attachments (if any), additional information, etc., submitted herewith merely constitutes a submission of information to the City of Beacon and is NOT A BID. There is no obligation for the City of Beacon to enter into an agreement with any individual or entity submitting a proposal in response to this RFP. Submission of a proposal to this RFP, attachments and additional information therewith shall not obligate or entitle the individual or entity to enter into an agreement with the City for the Scope of Services. The individual or entity understands and agrees that the City of Beacon is NOT obligated to respond to proposals nor is it legally bound by such proposals whatsoever by the submission of the same.

Appendix: Additional Information

• Beacon-Hopewell Rail Trail: The abandoned Beacon rail line is planned to become the multi-purpose Beacon-Hopewell Rail Trail in the next few years, designed for hiking and biking. The rail trail will begin at the Beacon Metro-North train station, cross over the active rail tracks, pass through local parks, head north along the NW side of Fishkill Creek, meet up with Beacon’s Main Street, cross Churchill Street and East Main Street, then run parallel alongside Route 52 and head north into the Town of Fishkill. The Rail Trail has overwhelming community support. At Beacon’s request, Dutchess County conducted a feasibility study4 of the entire line between Beacon and Hopewell Junction (East Fishkill), which was completed at the end of 2025. The City engaged Barton & Loguidice, the consultants that conducted the feasibility study, to produce detailed design specifications for the Beacon portion of the rail trail, with completion of engineering design specs currently expected around the end of 2026. The City is actively seeking funding for construction of its section of the rail trail, with other communities along the line to follow over time. Presumably, the rail trail will form a backbone for Beacon hiking and biking trails.

• Hudson Highlands Fjord Trail: This is a multi-purpose trail and linear park, running from the Beacon train station south along the Hudson River, to Breakneck Ridge and other state park hiking trails, Little Stony Point, and possibly further south. HHFT Inc. is a non-profit subsidiary of Scenic Hudson, and has attracted major funding for the project, both public and private. The Breakneck Ridge section is currently under construction. The Fjord Trail will cross Fishkill Creek and connect with the Beacon-Hopewell Rail Trail, and share some common section of trail as it heads to the train station. The City is working closely with HHFT on shared components of design. The Fjord Trail will be an integral component to Beacon hiking and biking.

• Beekman Street Complete Streets Project: The City has been awarded $3.6 million in federal funding for a project to reconfigure Beekman Street, which runs from the Beacon train station uphill to Route 9D. The project plans include a dedicated bike lane on the uphill side of Beekman with “sharrows” (shared lane markings) on the downhill side, new sidewalks, lighting, etc. This project will get underway in the next year or so, and will provide safe bicycle access to and from the train station.

• Main Street: Beacon’s Main Street is the heart of the community and the focus of business activity – with dozens of preserved historic buildings and careful form-based zoning. Main Street is busy during the week, but especially so on weekends, when it attracts visitors for strolling, shopping and dining. According to the Dutchess County’s 2014 Walk Bike Dutchess Plan5, Main Street was the first street in the county to have sharrows. It is a narrow street (as are the side streets connecting to it), with ADA curb extensions and crosswalks that effectively reduce vehicle speed. Beacon’s Main Street was largely boarded up as recently as 30-40 years ago; preserving a revitalized Main Street is a core goal of the City’s Comprehensive Plan.

4 See Final_BHRT_Feasibility_Study_Report_100725 5 See https://www.dutchessny.gov/walkbikedutchess https://www.dutchessny.gov/Departments/Transportation-Council/Docs/Final_BHRT_Feasibility_Study_Report_100725.pdf https://www.dutchessny.gov/walkbikedutchess

• Hudson River and Fishkill Creek Parks / Trails: There are several parks and trails6 adjacent to the Hudson River and Fishkill Creek. Note that most of the existing trails described here are designed as walking trails.

− Seeger Park: City-owned park just north of the train station.

− Long Dock Park: Scenic Hudson Park/trails adjacent to the train station.

− Klara Sauer Trail: Scenic Hudson trail from Long Dock to Dennings Point. This will likely be expanded to accommodate the Fjord Trail and Beacon-Hopewell Rail Trail.

One idea is for separate “fast” and “slow” lanes where the right-of-way permits.

− Dennings Point Park: NY State park.

− Connecting Trail: There is a connecting trail from Dennings Point that uses the park’s road crossing over the MNR tracks, and then wends along the east side of the tracks to the north side of Fishkill Creek, onto a boardwalk (over a City sewer line), and to Madam Brett Park.

− Madam Brett Park: Scenic Hudson Park/trail adjacent to Fishkill Creek.

− Greenway Trail: The City’s Greenway Trail leverages the trail components above from Long Dock to Madam Brett, and then is planned to extend alongside Fishkill Creek to the City line, with construction occurring when prior creek factory parcels are redeveloped. There are completed sections, starting from about 500 feet north of Madam Brett Park, to the Roundhouse at East Main Street, and another section alongside Route 52. Note that intervening parcels do not at present, and may not in the future, have development proposals. Also note that Beacon Rail Trail will run directly adjacent to Fishkill Creek and Greenway Trail, so there will be some opportunity to consider changes to trail plans in this area. There was also a study for a trail from the Beacon train station north along the tracks to the I-84 bridge. The Transit-Oriented Development proposal on the north Metro-North commuter parking lot will have north-south access for pedestrians and bicycles alongside the tracks. But there is no foreseeable prospect for any other development to the north that could result in building any other section of trail to the north.

• Groveville Bridge: There is an old wooden-deck bridge over Fishkill Creek between Liberty Ave and Bridge Street to the south and the Groveville development along Route 52 to the north. While it is currently closed, some work has been done to see what it would take to restore it for pedestrian and bike traffic. On the south side of the creek, the bridge might lead to sharrows on Liberty Street or elsewhere.

• Matteawan Road / North Cedar Street: Matteawan Road leads from Verplanck Avenue to Beacon’s high school and middle school, and then two housing complexes and the Fishkill Correctional facility. There are walkways along Matteawan Road, and hopefully

6 See DCNY | Parks & Trails.

https://gis.dutchessny.gov/parks-and-trails/ enough room for bike lanes as well. South of Verplanck, North Cedar Street leads from Main Street to Matteawan. One idea has been to make North Cedar a bike boulevard.

• Route 52 / Matteawan Access Road: There is a proposal to develop an access road from Route 52 (near the flashing signal crossing at Mill Street) into the prison area to intersect with Matteawan Road at Camp Beacon Road east of the high school. This would create another route to schools, and open up the former prison agricultural area for potential development. Any new road would have the room for dedicated pedestrian and bicycle paths. Such a route might also be connected to the I-84 bridge via prison land.

• Route 9D: State Route 9D is an arterial with two lanes plus a center turning lane, sidewalks and ‘brick’ sidewalk buffers from I-84 to South Avenue. Connecting from the end of Beekman Street at Route 9D (where a bike lane will reach from the train station), north on 9D to the I-84 bridge pedestrian / bike path should be explored, along with any other bike paths along the arterial – subject, of course, to NYS DOT review and approval.

• Dutchess County Resources: The City partners closely with county colleagues – through the Dutchess County Transportation Council (DCTC) and Dutchess County Planning – who have produced several pieces of work that can be leveraged for Beacon bicycle and pedestrian efforts.

− Vehicle & Pedestrian/Bicycle Traffic Counts: The DCTC undertakes annual traffic counts, including bicycle counts, which are available to assist in determining current and historical bike usage, as well as vehicle volumes, speeds, and types (class).7

− Sidewalk Inventory: The DCTC recently engaged consultants to complete a Beacon sidewalk inventory, which is available for use in this project. The inventory includes a full listing of all streets in discrete segments, identifying whether the segment has two, one and no sidewalks, as well as the sidewalks’ relative quality.8

− Countywide Bicycle/Pedestrian Plan: The DCTC published Walk Bike Dutchess, a pedestrian and bike plan for Dutchess County, in 2014, which while dated has solid basic data and rudimentary recommendations for Beacon.9

− Moving Dutchess Forward: The DCTC completed this countywide Transportation Plan in 2026; it includes several sections about walking and bicycling and has a series of maps that show the transportation system, demographics, key destinations, and other useful data.10

7 See DCNY | Traffic Data 8 See Beacon_Pedestrian_Facility_Inventory_Memo.pdf 9 See https://www.dutchessny.gov/walkbikedutchess 10 See Moving Dutchess Forward - Home - Moving Dutchess Forward; https://gis.dutchessny.gov/moving-dutchess-forward/ (Maps); Our Walking & Bicycling System - Moving Dutchess Forward; Local Actions - Moving Dutchess Forward https://gis.dutchessny.gov/traffic-data/ https://www.dutchessny.gov/Departments/Transportation-Council/Docs/Beacon_Pedestrian_Facility_Inventory_Memo.pdf https://www.dutchessny.gov/walkbikedutchess https://movingdutchessforward.com/ https://gis.dutchessny.gov/moving-dutchess-forward/ https://gis.dutchessny.gov/moving-dutchess-forward/ https://movingdutchessforward.com/our-walking-amp-bicycling-system/ https://movingdutchessforward.com/local-actions/ https://movingdutchessforward.com/local-actions/