Project Information

Bid Title

Request for Qualifications: Apex Pleasant Park Access Study

Issuing Agency

NC Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization

Location

North Carolina

Published Date

Oct 31, 2025

Closing Date

Dec 17, 2025

Government Level

State & Local

Status

Closed

Original Source

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Bid Documents

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Project Description

Request for Qualifications:
Apex Pleasant Park Access Study

The North Carolina Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (CAMPO) is inviting qualified consulting firms or persons to submit Statements of Qualifications, Interest, and Experience in evaluating new access and multi-modal connectivity to Pleasant Park, as identified in the recently adopted Town of Apex’s Western Big Branch Area Plan. This study will make recommendations to the Town and MPO for increasing multimodal access to Pleasant Park by evaluating up to five options for new access points for feasibility. Possible locations for the analysis include: a Pleasant Plains Road grade separation of US 1; a grade separation of Kelly Road or Boyette Street and Old US 1 Highway and the existing CSX train tracks; a new NC 540 grade-separated crossing; and a new collector road parallel and just south of the CSX tracks between Friendship Road and Pleasant Plains Road. The intent of this study is to identify a single recommended connection or series of connections for further analysis.

Each alternative will be assessed at a conceptual level based on feasibility, safety, and ability to meet the project’s purpose and need. As the study progresses, the consultant will work with the project team to narrow the alternatives and identify a recommended connection. A planning-level cost estimate and implementation strategy will be developed for the recommended alternative(s).

In addition, the study will define the purpose and need for the new connection, develop materials for and conduct public engagement in collaboration with Town and MPO staff, and prepare and present materials at Planning Board and Town Council meetings, two MPO Technical and Executive Board meetings, and two public meetings.

Go to full RFQ

TASK	TIME	DATE
Advertise the RFQ		November 3, 2025
RFQ Question Submittal Deadline Questions should be submitted via email to Caleb Allred .	11 AM EST	December 5, 2025
CAMPO Responses to Questions	5 PM EST	December 8, 2025
Statement of Qualifications Submittal Deadline Deliver Statement of Qualifications, per instructions in the full RFQ.	3 PM EST	December 17, 2025
Tentative Candidate Selection		Early January, 2026
Contract Negotiations		January - February, 2026
Anticipated Notice to Proceed		February, 2026

Go to full RFQ

Attachment Preview

Request for

Qualifications

Apex Pleasant Park

Access Study

FY 2026/2027

Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization

November 3, 2025

Page 1 of 7

REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS (RFQ)

CAPITAL AREA MPO

APEX PLEASANT PARK ACCESS STUDY

PURPOSE

The North Carolina Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) is inviting qualified consulting

firms or persons to submit Statements of Qualifications, Interest, and Experience in evaluating new access

and multi-modal connectivity to Pleasant Park, as identified in the recently adopted Town of Apex’s Western

Big Branch Area Plan. This study will make recommendations to the Town and MPO for increasing multimodal

access to Pleasant Park by evaluating up to five options for new access points for feasibility. Possible

locations for the analysis include: a Pleasant Plains Road grade separation of US 1; a grade separation of

Kelly Road or Boyette Street and Old US 1 Highway and the existing CSX train tracks; a new NC 540

grade-separated crossing; and a new collector road parallel and just south of the CSX tracks between

Friendship Road and Pleasant Plains Road. The intent of this study is to identify a single recommended

connection or series of connections for further analysis.

Each alternative will be assessed at a conceptual level based on feasibility, safety, and ability to meet the

project’s purpose and need. As the study progresses, the consultant will work with the project team to narrow

the alternatives and identify a recommended connection. A planning-level cost estimate and implementation

strategy will be developed for the recommended alternative(s).

In addition, the study will define the purpose and need for the new connection, develop materials for and

conduct public engagement in collaboration with Town and MPO staff, and prepare and present materials

at Planning Board and Town Council meetings, two MPO Technical and Executive Board meetings, and two

public meetings.

RFQ SCHEDULE

Advertise RFQ

November 3, 2025

RFQ Question Submittal Deadline – 11 AM EST

December 5, 2025

CAMPO Responses Posted By 5 PM EST

December 8, 2025

Statement of Qualifications Submittal Deadline – 3 PM EST

December 17, 2025

Tentative Candidate Selection

Early January 2026

Contract Negotiations

January-February 2026

Anticipated Notice to Proceed

February 2026

LEAD AND SPONSORING AGENCY

The Federal Aid Highway Act of 1962 required that transportation projects in urbanized areas of

50,000 or greater in population be based on a continuing comprehensive urban transportation planning

process undertaken cooperatively by the states and local governments. To complete this transportation

planning process in an effective manner, the North Carolina Capital Area Metropolitan Planning

Organization was created. The current CAMPO planning area boundary encompasses over 1,600 square

miles and a population of more than 1,000,000.

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CAMPO is tasked with providing a regional, comprehensive, and cooperative planning process that serves

as the basis for the expenditure of all federal transportation funds in the area. Under Section 134 of the

Federal Highway Act of 1973, MPOs are required to prepare long range transportation plans for the

planning area with a minimum of a 20-year planning horizon.

The Town of Cary serves as the Lead Planning Agency for CAMPO. The MPO is required to complete the

transportation planning process in a continuing, cooperative, and comprehensive manner.

BACKGROUND

Located southeast of the intersection of Old US 1 and Pleasant Plains Road, Pleasant Park was opened by

the Town of Apex in November 2023. Since its opening, the park has seen an increase in popularity,

stressing the existing two-lane rural road currently providing the single access point to the park. The traffic

generated by the park is expected to increase with the addition of new recreational facilities. In addition,

the Town’s Fire Department has expressed concern with response time to the park due to the limited point

of entry. As a result, the Town’s recently adopted Western Big Branch Area Plan recommended further

studying additional multimodal connections to the park to serve both users and emergency access.

Figure 1 – Pleasant Park Property Map

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SCOPE OF SERVICES

To study the feasibility of improving multimodal access to the park by way of an additional access point(s),

the MPO seeks the following tasks to be performed by a professional consultant or firm. The consultant will

evaluate up to five (5) potential multimodal access alternatives, with the intent of identifying a single

recommended connection or series of connections for further analysis.

Tasks and Outcomes expected under this project include:

• Preparing a detailed work plan and schedule, including a specific public and stakeholder engagement

plan, to guide project implementation and administration.

• Refining a study area in coordination with the client and consultant team.

• Reviewing relevant plans such as, but not limited to, the Western Big Branch Area Plan, the Apex

Transportation Plan, Peak Plan 2055 (currently underway), the CAMPO Blueprint for Safety (multimodal

safety design elements), the 2055 Metropolitan Transportation Plan (MTP), and any relevant NCDOT

requirements.

• Coordinating regular meetings with a Core Technical Team (CTT) comprised of staff from CAMPO, the

Town of Apex, NCDOT Turnpike Authority, NCDOT Division 5, and railroad stakeholders. The consultant

will prepare meeting agendas, summaries, and materials for all CTT meetings.

• Coordinating with Wake County and Holly Springs staff as project stakeholders.

• Defining the purpose and need for the project

• Identifying and analyzing up to five potential new access connections to the park (see Figure 1), and

evaluating their ability to address the defined purpose and need.

• Considering factors such as current and projected traffic volumes, the park master plan, study area

geography, conceptual planning-level design, multimodal safety, environmental features, property

acquisition, and other considerations as identified by the CTT.

• Supporting the narrowing of alternatives in coordination with the CTT, and preparing a planning-level

cost estimate and implementation strategy for the recommended alternative(s) only. Functional or

preliminary design is not expected under this scope.

• Preparing appropriate public and stakeholder engagement materials, including but not limited to flyers

and handouts (digital/paper), postcard mailers, pamphlets, website and e-newsletter content, yard signs,

and digital graphics. Consultants will participate in select stakeholder and/or public engagement

activities to provide technical expertise, while logistics and support staffing will be primarily resourced

by the client.

• Preparing all agendas and presentations, and leading two community meetings.

• Preparing and delivering presentations at two Planning Board meetings, two Town Council meetings, and

up to two MPO TCC and Executive Board meetings.

This project will be guided by a CTT of staff from CAMPO, the Town of Apex, NCDOT Turnpike Authority,

NCDOT Division 5, railroad stakeholders, and other key stakeholders. It is anticipated that this committee

will meet monthly as needed throughout the study. The consultant project manager will also convene bi-

weekly with the CAMPO project manager and Apex project administrator for project management check-

ins. The consultant will be responsible for preparing and leading all meeting agendas, materials, and

summaries.

Deliverables for this effort include:

• Preparation for and documentation of all project and CTT meetings.

• Agendas, meeting summaries, and materials for up to 12 CTT meetings.

• Editable engagement material files, including content suitable for social media, web postings, email

communications, in-person events, and other outreach methods.

• Documentation of all analysis parameters used to evaluate each potential connection.

• GIS files, static and interactive maps, and all design files associated with the project.

Page 4 of 7

• A planning-level cost estimate and implementation strategy for the recommended alternative(s) only.

• A final report and associated executive summary in editable formats.

• Presentation materials suitable for the Town Planning Board, Town Council, and MPO TCC and Executive

Board meetings.

• Administrative documents including the project work plan and schedule, public and stakeholder

engagement plan, invoices, and progress reports for billing.

• Administrative documents including project work plan and schedule, public and stakeholder engagement

plan, invoices and progress reports for project billing.

It is anticipated that a Notice to Proceed will be issued no later than February 2026. All work and invoices

should be completed by June 30, 2027.

All interested parties will have demonstrated ability to conduct thorough analysis on complex transportation

and land use issues and objectively present feasible options and recommendations on associated issues;

experience conducting roadway engineering and analysis work; work in a team environment; and

demonstrated ability to undertake and complete projects within allotted timeframes and budgets.

STATEMENT OF QUALIFICATIONS, INTEREST AND EXPERIENCE

Statements of Qualifications shall be submitted on 8.5” x 11” pages, using a minimum font size of 11-point

in a standard, legible typeface (e.g., Calibri, Arial, or Times New Roman), with at least 1-inch margins, and

no more than 15 pages, plus a one-page cover letter shall be submitted with one (1) digital copy in a PDF

format, labeled “Apex Pleasant Park Access Study,” to the contact person listed below. Statements of

Qualifications will need to include a comprehensive response describing the consultant’s knowledge and

experience with the tasks described in the above Scope of Services. Statements of Qualifications also need

to include the following:

1. General Experience Summary: The summary will need to emphasize the team’s experience with multimodal

access planning, analysis and engineering, and community engagement. This section should include an

overview of directly related project experience of key personnel.

2. Proposed Approach Summary: The proposed approach should include a brief overview of how the

consultant team will achieve the tasks and outcomes associated with the requested Scope of Services

presented above, and a proposed timeline showing major tasks and meetings needed to achieve the

desired Scope of Work no later than June 30, 2027.

3. Project References: References will need to include a brief project description, contact name, address,

telephone number, email address, and provide evidence of similar work completed within the last five

(5) years. Project team members who worked on each referenced project should be noted, along with

their role.

4. Project Team: Provide resumes for specific personnel that will be assigned to the project, including

verification that they have experience with similar projects, and will be available to complete the project

within the allotted timeframe.

5. General Information: A profile of the firm, and description of current projects will need to be included in

this section. This section can also be used to provide additional information the firm feels would be useful

during the evaluation process.

6. Vendor ID Numbers: Any interested respondent must be a registered vendor with the Town of Cary

and the NC Department of Transportation prior to contracting with the MPO. Vendor identification

Page 5 of 7

Commodity Codes

• NAICS 541330Engineering Services
• NAICS 541611Administrative Management and General Management Consulting Services
• NAICS 541690Other Scientific and Technical Consulting Services

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