Fehr & Peers

Fehr & Peers

Fehr & Peers is a transportation planning and engineering firm providing consulting on transportation planning, traffic engineering, transit and active transportation projects across the United States. The firm has engaged with public agencies, private developers, and academic institutions on projects that intersect with urban planning, environmental impact assessment, public transit policy and infrastructure finance. Its work has involved collaborations with municipal governments, regional agencies and international partners on multimodal solutions integrating railway expansions, bus rapid transit, bicycle networks and pedestrian improvements.

History

Fehr & Peers was founded in 1985 during a period of renewed investment in mass transit and regional planning, aligning with initiatives by entities such as the Federal Transit Administration, California Department of Transportation and metropolitan planning organizations like the Metropolitan Transportation Commission. Early projects connected with agencies involved in the redevelopment of corridors influenced by programs like the Interstate Highway System mitigation efforts and urban infill policies in cities including San Francisco, Oakland, Los Angeles, Sacramento and San Jose. Throughout the 1990s and 2000s the firm expanded services in response to legislation such as the Clean Air Act amendments, partnerships with academic centers at University of California, Berkeley, Stanford University, and collaboration with consulting peers like Jacobs Engineering, AECOM, Parsons Brinckerhoff and HNTB. The company has navigated shifts in funding from federal acts like the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century and the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act while participating in corridor studies related to Caltrain, Bay Area Rapid Transit, Metrolink and Amtrak projects.

Services and Specializations

Fehr & Peers offers services in traffic analysis used by municipal agencies such as the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, San Diego Metropolitan Transit System, and regional planners like the Southern California Association of Governments and the Sacramento Area Council of Governments. The firm provides transit planning, ridership forecasting, and fare modeling applied to systems including Muni, LA Metro, Sound Transit, WMATA and Chicago Transit Authority. Its bicycle and pedestrian practice engages with advocacy groups and policy frameworks such as PeopleForBikes, Rails-to-Trails Conservancy, Complete Streets policies and research at institutions like Transportation Research Board. Fehr & Peers conducts environmental and land use assessments tied to statutes and reviews involving the National Environmental Policy Act, California Environmental Quality Act, and coordination with agencies like the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and state departments. The firm also provides parking studies, demand management, travel demand modeling with software stacks used alongside practitioners from PIERCE Transit, TriMet, King County Metro and consulting firms such as Steer Group and WSP Global.

Notable Projects

Fehr & Peers has been involved in a range of projects from local complete streets upgrades to regional rail and airport ground access programs. Notable assignments have included studies for San Francisco International Airport, Los Angeles International Airport, multimodal integration for Oakland International Airport and transit-oriented development analyses near stations on Caltrain, BART, VTA and Metrolink. The firm supported corridor work for Central Valley Rail, service planning for Amtrak California, bus rapid transit feasibility for King County Metro and transit signal priority implementations employed in cities like Seattle, Portland, Denver and Minneapolis. Fehr & Peers contributed to active transportation plans in jurisdictions including Berkeley, Palo Alto, Mountain View and Santa Monica, and provided traffic and circulation planning for mixed-use developments tied to projects involving firms and entities such as Hines, Prologis, Tishman Speyer, Skanska and municipal redevelopment agencies in San Diego and San Jose.

Corporate Structure and Leadership

The firm operates with a leadership team and principal consultants spanning planning, engineering and policy disciplines, interacting with boards and commissions such as local planning commissions and transit authorities including MTC, SANDAG, VTA and LA Metro. Senior staff have engaged academically with University of California, Los Angeles, University of Washington, University of Southern California, Cornell University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and professional organizations like the Institute of Transportation Engineers, American Society of Civil Engineers and National Association of City Transportation Officials. Fehr & Peers has grown through regional offices and strategic hires, aligning with peer firms and subcontractors including Kimley-Horn, Michael Baker International, Gannett Fleming, Stantec and Black & Veatch for large capital programs and procurement support tied to federal grant programs administered by entities like the Federal Highway Administration.

Awards and Recognition

The firm and its staff have received recognition from professional institutions such as the Transportation Research Board, Institute of Transportation Engineers, American Planning Association, American Public Transportation Association and local award programs in cities like San Francisco, Los Angeles and Seattle. Projects supported by the firm have been cited in conferences such as TRB Annual Meeting, APTA EXPO, ITE Annual Meeting and publications in outlets associated with Urban Land Institute and Planetizen. Fehr & Peers’ contributions to active transportation, transit innovation and traffic engineering have been acknowledged through awards and case study mentions alongside projects from agencies like BART, Caltrans, Sound Transit, LA Metro and municipal departments in Oakland, Berkeley and Santa Monica.

Category:Transportation consulting firms