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staff, that to maintain visibility of traffic and traffic control devices, vending trucks (stop to <br />operate/conduct business at any location) are prohibited within 100' of intersections and marked <br />or unmarked crosswalks. <br />Vending prohibited on streets where posted speed is 35 mph or greater. <br />The City recently approved Safe Mobility Santa Ana, which analyzed causes and correlation of <br />traffic collisions for a ten year period. The study determined that, while arterial streets constitute <br />only 21 % of the roadway network in the City, over 60% of collisions involving severely injured <br />or killed pedestrians and bicyclists occur on arterial streets where speeds are typically 35 mph or <br />higher. <br />In the opinion of Engineering staff, the presence of vending trucks on streets with speed limits <br />greater than 35 mph creates a hazardous condition by obstructing visibility to view pedestrians, <br />bicyclists, and traffic control devices, providing an attraction for patrons to cross streets at <br />midblock locations, and creates the potential for customers to block sidewalk requiring <br />pedestrians to enter the motor vehicle path. <br />Additional Mobile Vending Health and Safety Issues Encountered by Santa Ana Police <br />Department <br />The Santa Ana Police Department has reported that during recent years, mobile vending trucks <br />have attracted individuals engaged in the sales of narcotics. At times it has been employees of <br />the mobile vending trucks and more frequently individuals who use the vending trucks as a way <br />to blend in with the environment to give their illegal activity a perception of legitimacy. The <br />illegal activity has included narcotics sales and illegal sale of cigarettes. It is also known that <br />many gang members use the mobile vending trucks as a way to conceal narcotics and firearms in <br />order to prevent being in possession of the items when contacted by the police. It is not unusual <br />for truck operators to be intimidated by gang members and feel obligated to pay a "tax" to the <br />local gang(s). Mobile vending truck operators have also been victims of crimes from robbery to <br />homicide. A high concentration of vending trucks are found in the most challenging gang areas <br />of the city and exacerbate the quality of life/crime related issues in those areas. <br />Many of the vending trucks sell replica/toy firearms. As such often times guns purchased from <br />the vending trucks have been used to perpetrate crimes. Those firearms have also been used by <br />vending truck operators as a feint form of protection. The toy/replica firearms being sold in <br />areas with a high concentration of vending trucks may lead to disastrous results to the prevalence <br />of real firearms and violent crime in some of those areas. <br />Vending trucks post both pedestrian and traffic related problems. Many of the vendors set out <br />chairs and tables along the curb/sidewalk areas which can obstruct the use of the public walkway <br />by those not patronizing the vending truck. Due to the size of mobile vending trucks and their <br />common presence in some of the most densely populated areas of Santa Ana the risk for <br />2 <br />75C-14 <br />