(b) Review and
evaluation. Review and evaluation of the proposals will be by the executive
director, the chief engineer and general counsel with such staff and/or outside
assistance as they shall deem appropriate and necessary. The authority may
consult with other governmental agencies in the course of its review, but,
under the provisions of the Public Authorities Law, sole responsibility for the
determination of the award shall rest with the authority. The authority shall
require the favorable recommendation of the chief engineer as a precondition to
any award. The criteria for evaluation will include:
(1) The relative degree of disruption of the
right-of-way anticipated during installation and maintenance and the extent to
which such disruption may affect traffic flow and safety, landscaping, and
protected resources, as well as the equipment's appearance, its structural and
controlled access integrity and its ability to be maintained, widened, and
otherwise modified. To minimize disruption all proposals should be in
accordance with the following guidelines:
(i)
Except where the use of an authority structure is necessary, all fiber optic
equipment should be installed in underground ducts located as far as practical
from any roadway or graded shoulder and no part of the fiber optic equipment
should be visible above ground.
(ii) The initial installation should include
all apurtenances necessary or incidental to the operation of the equipment, and
should include all manholes and other duct access points at appropriate
spacings to permit the pulling of additional cables into the duct system
without further excavation or construction.
(iii) Where the equipment is to be installed
on a structure, the location shall be subject to the approval of the chief
engineer and shall be such that it will not interfere with the regular
maintenance and operation of the facility. Installation on structures shall not
be visible to motorists or pedestrians using the facility and shall not
significantly alter the appearance of the bridge in any way.
(iv) All methods and details of the
installation and subsequent maintenance shall be subject to the review and
approval of the authority. Access to authority facilities will normally be
limited to weekday hours between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m.
(v) Upon completion of the installation and
any subsequent maintenance activities, all disturbed areas shall be returned to
their original condition unless agreed to in writing by the
authority.
(vi) The installation
should be along the longitudinal right-of-way only, connecting a single entry
point to a single exit point. Service connections to and from the authority's
right- of-way should not be proposed.
(vii) Proposals should take into account
planned or likely improvements or alterations in the authority's
facilities.
(viii) The safety of
the public and the structural integrity and maintainability of the authority's
facilities are of primary importance to the authority. In no case will any
installation be permitted that will adversely impact either.
(2) Measures proposed for access
to the fiber optic transmission equipment from outside the right-of-way, which
should be consistent with the following requirements:
(i) Access shall be subject to the approval
of the authority and shall be by existing authority pedestrian or vehicular
access route unless otherwise agreed to in writing and shall be generally
limited to weekdays between the hours of 9 a.m. and 3 p.m.
(ii) The authority may impose conditions for
policing and other controls as are necessary to assure the safety of the public
and to avoid or minimize interference with facility use. During installation,
operation and maintenance barriers and/or signs and/or warning devices
conforming to the MUTCD shall be installed as required to alert and protect
facility users to activities within or adjacent to the right-of-way.
(iii) Where signs conforming to the MUTCD are
placed in the vicinity of the roadway, shoulder, or adjacent clear recovery
area, they shall be collapsible upon impact from a vehicle.
(iv) At no time will the parking, stopping or
placement of vehicles, equipment or materials be allowed on the roadway,
shoulders or adjacent clearway without the expressed permission of the
authority.
(3) The total
capacity being installed. Installation of fiber optics equipment shall be of a
character and capacity to preclude the programmed need for any additional
disruption. Absent compelling circumstances, the authority will not permit
installation of additional ducts or conduits during the term of the lease. The
authority will, however, allow installation of additional cable and/or
replacement of existing cable within a previously installed duct or conduit to
the extent it can be accomplished with minimal direct or indirect interference
with the maintenance and operation of the facility.
(4) The degree to which the equipment, such
as duct space, will be available for use by others and the proposed terms and
conditions of such use. There is a presumption that it is in the public
interest for the competing transportation corporations to provide service
within the available corridors. In order to protect and encourage such
competition and ensure minimum future intrusion into the right-of-way and to
avoid disturbance to traffic by installation of additional fiber optic
equipment, the proposer is required to provide a description of the facilities,
such as duct space, which will be available to others and how others will be
provided fair access to the equipment proposed to be installed. An outline of
the terms and conditions under which the proposer would make such equipment
available to other services shall be provided.
(5) Proposed payment or payments to be made
for use and occupancy of the authority facility. The authority expects to
charge an assessment for the privilege of permitting installation and operation
of fiber optic transmission equipment on its facilities.