BERLIN – Town officials are currently seeking proposals for a mobility and parking study in downtown Berlin.
The Town of Berlin issued a request for qualifications (RFQ) this month for a mobility and parking study. The study would review the town’s current parking situation and address its future needs, as well as ways to finance those needs.
“We’re looking for a good assessment of the current parking situation and ideas on how to move people around more effectively,” said Town Administrator Laura Allen. “It’s not just about parking, it’s about mobility.”
The scope of services calls for consultants to develop a parking study that will address three areas — existing parking conditions and recommendations, future parking needs and recommendations and requirements for recommendations. Town officials want the consultant to review the town’s parking situation, including its pedestrian and bicycle traffic patterns, and identify shortfalls. The consultant will be asked to develop strategies to improve mobility from a “multi-modal” perspective. The RFQ states that the consultant should consider alternatives such as valet parking and should evaluate the feasibility of a multi-level parking structure.
“We’re asking consultants to come up with some unique ideas,” Allen said.
In the portion of the study devoted to “Requirements for Recommendations,” the consultant is asked to provide yearly maintenance costs for parking initiatives and aid in finding funding solutions for any proposed improvements.
“I’m asking them to identify costs,” Allen said, adding that the town had a budget it had to follow each year.
Allen said the RFQ had been posted via the online bidding service DemandStar but had also been advertised locally. The town also sent the RFQ to more than a dozen consultants who have done parking studies for other cities in Maryland.
Proposals are due back to the town July 31. Allen believes officials could potentially approve a contract in August and that consultants could begin work in September. Allen said that time of year shouldn’t impact the study.
“A lot of people are telling me the lots are full year-round,” she said. “If that’s the case it wouldn’t matter when these folks did the study.”
