The Cuyahoga County Planning Commission (County Planning) announces the release of a Request for Proposals (RFP) to develop a Comprehensive Safety Action Plan for Cuyahoga County.

Request for Proposals

Responses to the RFP are due no later than 4:30 p.m. on Monday, July 20, 2026.

County Planning was awarded Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) funding in Spring 2026 for the development of a Comprehensive Safety Action Plan that will cover all 59 communities (including municipalities, villages, and townships) within the County, coordinate with current and past SS4A awardee communities and other existing community safety plans, and prioritize roadway safety projects on a countywide basis.

County Planning is requesting proposals from a consultant or consultant team for the preparation of a Cuyahoga County Comprehensive Safety Action Plan. The consultant(s) is/are expected to work closely and proactively with County Planning staff members assigned to this project, and the proposed scope of services will reflect when and how County Planning’s services will supplement the consultant team’s work.

Frequently Asked Questions

Clarifications regarding Section 2.A. Scope of Services

1. County Planning staff contributions to community engagement events.
   • County Planning has a budget of $150,000 in in-kind services, which will be dedicated to engagement, project management, and administration. County Planning anticipates participating heavily in community engagement events. Our staff time will be refined during the development of the project scope once a consultant is selected.
2. Consultant contributions to the application of SS4A Supplemental Planning, Demonstration, and Implementation grants during project contract period (Deliverables 4.iv and 5.iv)
   • Budgeting for Supplemental Planning, Demonstration, and Implementation grant applications should be included in the consultant’s proposed budget and scope.

Clarifications regarding Section 2.A deliverables

1. Does County Planning anticipate requiring consultants to transfer proprietary analytical tools or licensed datasets as part of the project closeout, or is it expected that the County will only receive the plan outputs, maps, and project-ready data layers built from those tools?
   • County Planning will own all deliverables resulting from the development of the Action Plan. County Planning will require the consultant to transfer all methodologies and datasets in a useable format to County Planning for future in-house upkeep and analysis.
2. How vetted does County planning expect the projects recommended in the Project List to be? Are you looking for conceptual sketches with planning-level cost estimates, or more of a prioritized list of strategies that municipalities would then develop further?
   • County Planning expects the projects contained in the resulting Project List to be well vetted by communities, stakeholders, and the general public.
   • Although the exact form of these recommended projects will be determined during the refinement of the Scope of Services once a consultant is chosen, it is anticipated that a prioritized list of strategies that Cuyahoga County and its municipalities would then develop further would be produced along with specific high priority projects that will include conceptual renderings and estimated costs.

Clarifications Regarding Section 3.A. Required Qualifications
Section 3.A. is meant to provide County Planning’s minimum requirements for applicants and is not intended to be its own section within your submission document. However, minimum qualifications stated here correspond directly to items required within Section 3.B Submission Requirements:

1. Consultant Experience → Address in Section 3.B. Item 2.
2. Staff Credentials → Address in Section 3.B. Item 3 and Appendices as needed.
3. Authorization → Address in Section 3.B. Item 3 and Appendices as needed.
4. Certifications → Address in Section 3.B. Item 3 and Appendices as needed.
   • Can the County clarify which specific ODOT prequalification categories, if any, are required for this contract?
     • A qualified consultant must be prequalified in the “Safety Study” category. Additional prequalified categories are favorable.
   •  If an ODOT prequalification is required, does it need to be held by the prime consultant, or can it be satisfied by a prequalified subcontractor on the team?
     • The primary consultant must be prequalified in the Safety Study Category.
     • For additional prequalified categories, the party that will be completing a particular task should be prequalified in the category that applies to that task, be that the primary consultant or the subcontractor.
   • If an ODOT prequalification is required for the prime consultant, will the County accept a “pending” prequalification status with ODOT at the time of submission if the prime’s ODOT prequal is under review?
     • At a minimum, primary consultants must possess ODOT prequalification in the Safety Study category by the time of application submission.
5. Insurance → Address in Section 3.B. Item 3 and Appendices as needed.

Clarifications Regarding Section 3.B. Submission Requirements

1. Will a cover page be permitted?
   • Yes. A cover page will not count towards overall page count.
2. Can proposers include a cover letter?
   • Yes, but not required. A cover letter will not count towards overall page count.
3. Will a table of contents be permitted?
   • Yes. A table of contents page will not count towards overall page count.
4. Clarifications for Item 2 “Consultant Experience
   • The three 1-page work samples will count toward overall page count.
   • You may provide additional project experience beyond the required three (3) work samples, as long as it is limited to three (3) pages.
5. Clarifications for Item 3.a “Description of Consultant Team and Qualifications, Project Manager, and Relevant Background Experience”
   • Resumes for both consultant team staff and subcontractor staff will count towards total page count.
   • Please include resumes of subcontractors in Section 3.a rather than in the Subcontractor Section.
   • Item 3.a should be a brief narrative that contains each member of the consultant team (identifying which team member will serve as the project manager for the Action Plan) as a follow-up to the required organization chart. This narrative should include a brief description of each team member along with their relevant qualifications and background experience. This can be in the form of a brief “bio” for each team member.
   • Item 3.a should be conveyed in paragraph form and will count towards the 5-page section limit.
6. Clarifications for Item 3.b “proof of qualifications”
   • Item 3.b should list all applicable licenses, certificates, permits, authorization to work in and required by Ohio, Cuyahoga County, and the Ohio Department of Transportation should be provided (see Section 3.A. for guidance).
     • This list will count toward the 5-page section limit.
   • Copies of applicable licenses, certifications, permits, and authorizations should be included in appendices rather than contained within the response document.
     • Appendices will not be counted towards section page limits.
7. Clarifications for Item 7 “Subcontractors”. Specifically, does this need to be its own section or will a response in item 2 (Consultant Experience) cover this?
   • Please include information regarding subcontractors—including their place in the organization chart and the services they will provide—wherever you believe it makes most sense in your submission document, be that Item 7 or Item 2.c. It does not need to be repeated in two separate sections. Please include references to other sections in the submission document if necessary.
8. Clarifications for Item 8 “Signature”. Specifically, does this section need to be its own page? Can the executive summary or cover letter include the signature of an authorized officer?
   • Signatures do not need their own page.
   • Signatures should be placed at the end of the response submission document and can immediately follow Item 7.
9. Will graphical section dividers be permitted outside of section page limits?
   • No, all graphics, including section dividers, will be included in section page limits.

Top image courtesy of Cuyahoga County