Item - 2026.GG30.11

The General Government Committee recommends that:

1. City Council authorize the General Manager, Transportation Services to negotiate and enter into a non-competitive agreement with Arcadis Professional Services (Canada) Inc., for the provision of Congestion Management Centre operations services in the amount of $4,512,329 net of all taxes and charges ($4,591,746 net of Harmonized Sales Tax recoveries), for the period of October 1, 2026 to September 30, 2027, subject to terms and conditions satisfactory to the General Manager, Transportation Services and in a form satisfactory to the City Solicitor.

The purpose of this report is to request City Council authority to enter into a non-competitive contract with Arcadis Professional Services (Canada) Inc., (“Arcadis”) for the provision of the City of Toronto’s (the “City”) Congestion Management Centre, formerly the RESCU Traffic Operations Centre, regarding operations services from October 1, 2026 to September 30, 2027, under the same rates, terms, and conditions set out in the current service contract (Request for Proposal “RFP” Doc2801359082) awarded in 2021, in the amount of $4,512,329 net of all taxes and charges ($4,591,746 net of Harmonized Sales Tax recoveries). The contract was originally awarded to IBI Group Professional Services (Canada) Inc., in 2021; however, in 2023, IBI Group filed articles of amendment with the Ministry of Public and Business Service Delivery and changed their name to Arcadis Professional Services (Canada) Inc. A Purchase Order Amendment was subsequently issued on August 11, 2023 to reflect the name change.

The Congestion Management Centre serves as the central hub for all traffic management activities in the City, providing essential operations 24/7 that includes: triaging and dispatching emergency transportation maintenance calls (for the City’s 2,500 traffic signals, 385 traffic monitoring cameras, and other electronic traffic control devices, traffic signs, and road right-of-way issues such as potholes and winter maintenance); providing traffic incident management and traveler information to the public; ensuring Congestion Management Centre and field transportation equipment, systems, and software are in good working condition; and supporting services for the City’s Road Disruption Activity Reporting System (“RoDARS”), Traffic Agent, and School Crossing Guard programs.

The current service contract under Request for Proposal Doc2801359082 will be ending on September 30, 2026. A new, competitive Request for Proposal is in the process of being developed, which better reflects the emerging traffic management needs and the future vision of congestion management operations in the City. This Request for Proposal features a significant expansion of services, including:

- Traffic signal operations services (e.g. providing active traffic management coverage and implementing signal timing changes in response to traffic incidents during weekday peak traffic periods, major special events, and planned construction, providing support for transit signal priority, and addressing traffic signal timing service requests);

- Additional supporting services for the Road Disruption Activity Reporting System program (e.g. application review and site inspections for compliance);

- Real-time key performance indicator analysis of the City’s road network;

- Piloting new intelligent transportation system technologies; and

- Establishment of a new construction coordination centre facility to provide centralized coordination of construction-related traffic impacts and support integrated congestion management across City operations

Drafting a new request for proposals began in September 2025 with the intent of awarding a new contract in time for it to commence immediately upon the expiry of the existing agreement on September 30, 2026, to ensure continuity of services beginning October 1, 2026. At that time, it was estimated that the procurement process and transition activities could be completed within the existing timeline. However, as early planning and scoping work progressed through 2025 and early 2026, it became evident that the level of service expansion being contemplated would materially increase both procurement complexity and transition requirements. In addition, the timing of the required transition activities would overlap with FIFA World Cup 2026 operational period and associated post-event “tear down” activities, when City resources would be significantly engaged in supporting heightened traffic management and operational demands.

To ensure that the essential traffic management services and continuation of important strategic initiatives delivered through the Congestion Management Centre operations contract are not disrupted, the General Manager, Transportation Services and the Chief Procurement Officer recommend entering into a non-competitive bridging contract with the incumbent supplier, Arcadis, to enable the new contract to be tendered and awarded. The non-competitive procurement will be proceeding under the exception code related to Bridging Contracts where there is a requirement to fulfill the short term need(s) of the required goods and / or services and the City has determined that both the proposed procurement and the selected supplier, along with the terms and conditions of the contract are beneficial to the City (Toronto Municipal Code, Chapter 195, Procurement, Section 7.1.E.).

City Council approval is required in accordance with Municipal Code Chapter 195, Procurement, where the current request exceeds the Chief Procurement Officer’s authority of the cumulative five-year commitment limit under Article 7, Section 195-7.3(D) of the Procurement By-law or exceeds the threshold of $500,000 net of Harmonized Sales Tax allowed under staff authority as per the Toronto Municipal Code, Chapter 71, Financial Control, Section 71-11(A).