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PROPOSED CONTRACT
Department(s): Office of the General Superintendent
Vendor: Eco-Counter, Inc, Montreal QC, Canada
Request: Authorization for the Forest Preserves of Cook County (the “Forest Preserves”) to enter into and execute
Good(s) or Service(s): Twenty (20) permanent and six (6) temporary trail counters, data software subscription services, and spare/replacement batteries and parts
Contract Value: $199,182.50
Contract Period: Sixty (60) months
Estimated Fiscal Impact: FY 2024 $157,062.50, FY 2025 $0, FY 2026 $14,040.00, FY 2027 $14,040.00 and FY 2028 $14,040.00
Accounts: Professional Services 51001.520840
Contract Number(s): #74000014453 issued under RFP #24-10-010920
Concurrences: The Chief Financial Officer has approved this item. Final contract is subject to legal review and approval.
The contract-specific Minority- and Women-Owned Business Enterprise goal for this contract was set to zero.
District(s): Districtwide
Summary: The Forest Preserves of Cook County issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) for the purchase of trail counters and data software subscription services and received one response from Eco-Counter, Inc. for twenty (20) permanent counters, six (6) temporary counters, data software subscription services, and spare/replacement batteries and parts.
The Forest Preserves seeks to establish a robust trail user counting system by deploying a fleet of both permanent and temporary trail counters across its entire trail network. Permanent, or continuous counters, are intended to provide the Forest Preserves year over year, long-term data for developing travel demand models for major regional trails that serve both commuting and recreational use. Permanent counter locations will include the North Branch Trail, Des Plaines River Trail, Salt Creek Greenway Trail, I&M Canal Trail, Centennial Trail, Cal-Sag Trail, Tinley Creek Trail, Major Taylor Trail, Thorn Creek Trail, Burnham Greenway Trail and trails at Deer Grove, Paul Douglas, and Poplar Creek preserves. Temporary, or short-duration, counters will be used to complete project-specific trail counts to study usage before and after capital improvements, including grant funded projects, as well as for augmenting travel demand models generated by the permanent counters.
The Forest Preserves currently has three (3) permanent counters (bought and serviced through this same vendor) installed at LaBagh Woods on the North Branch Trail, Busse Woods on the loop trail, and Turtlehead Lake on the Tinley Creek Trail. A future study is anticipated to analyze data collected by these proposed trail counters, as well as existing counters in the Forest Preserves’ fleet. This data will also be shared with other regional planning and transportation development agencies, including the Cook County Department of Transportation and Highways.
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