RFP No. 2026-007: City of Beacon Bicycle Master Plan

Location:	New York
Posted:	Sep 28, 2026
Due:	Oct 21, 2026
Agency:	Beacon city
Type of Government:	State & Local
Category:	C - Architect and Engineering Services - Construction
Publication URL:	To access bid details, please log in.

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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.

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.

− 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

This is the opportunity summary page. It provides an overview of this opportunity and a preview of the attached documentation.

RFP No. 2026-007: City of Beacon Bicycle Master Plan

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