Parking System Consultant

The City of Royal Oak, Michigan, located in Macomb County, is seeking a Parking System Consultant through a Request for Proposal (RFP) to comprehensively review and improve its downtown parking infrastructure. The consultant will be responsible for evaluating the city's current parking system, which comprises approximately 2,500 parking spaces across five garages and 1,400 street and surface lot spaces, with the existing system set to expire in December 2025. Key deliverables include conducting a parking demand analysis, recommending new technological systems, preparing future RFPs, and supporting public engagement activities. The consultant must help develop a unified customer-facing parking solution with advanced features such as pay-by-plate functionality, solar-powered pay stations, mobile payment integration, and potential gateless parking garage systems. Proposals are due on Monday, December 2, 2024, by noon, with the city seeking a not-to-exceed $25,000 quote. The evaluation will involve a subcommittee of city staff, boards, and commissions working directly with the chosen vendor to ensure speed and efficiency, and the city reserves the right to request additional information, narrow proposal lists, and potentially conduct oral presentations.

While no specific set-aside designations or restrictions on responding organizations are explicitly mentioned, the RFP indicates rigorous qualification requirements, including comprehensive insurance coverage. Vendors must maintain $1,000,000 in Commercial General Liability, Workers' Compensation, and Automobile Liability insurance, with potential additional requirements for Professional Liability and Errors & Omissions coverage. The city will conduct thorough investigations into potential vendors' abilities, facilities, and financial resources. The contract allows the city to terminate the agreement without penalty with 30 days' written notice and provides flexibility to re-award or re-bid if necessary. The total budget for this consulting engagement is capped at $25,000, with the ultimate goal of developing an innovative, user-centric parking solution that could potentially serve as a model for other municipalities. The selected consultant will play a critical role in guiding the city through a comprehensive parking system transformation, including potential future considerations such as electric vehicle charging infrastructure and dynamic pricing strategies.