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Attn: Mayor Miguel Pulido Santa Ana City Council 20 Civic Center Plaza P.O. Box 1988 Santa Ana, CA 92701 RE. City of Santa Ana's Capital Improvement Program 20'12 - 20'13 Dear Mayor Miguel Pulido and City Council Members: On behalf of the Southern California Safe Routes to School Regional Network, we are providing comments on the City of Santa Ana's Capital Improvement Program ("CIP") for the years 2012 - 2013. Recently, the City of Santa Ana ("City") has taken great strides to plan improvements for walking and bicycling infrastructure- The City has also committed its policies to active transportation by amending the circulation element during the general plan update, including complete streets and updating the city's bicycle master plan. Our comments are intended to enhance Santa Ana's dedication to making walking and bicycling safer and more accessible to its residents, families, and children. The Safe Routes to School National Partnership (National Partnership) is a national advocacy group representing more than 500 organizations and professional groups that works to improve conditions for children to walk and bicycle to school. Through the National Partnership's work in California, tremendous efforts and successes have emerged through the development of countywide Safe Routes to School programs and community collaboration- The National Partnership staff is willing to work with the City of Santa Ana to share best practices, contacts, technical assistance, and resources. According to the 2009 National Household Travel Survey, approximately 16% of all trips in Orange County are completed by walking and bicycling. Tragically, in Orange County 25% of all traffic fatalities and 10% of all traffic injuries are bicyclists and pedestrians (SCAG RTP, Traffic Safety Addendum). Children from lower-income families spend more time as pedestrians. School children walking and bicycling to school in lower-income areas are four times more likely to be injured or killed by a car (University of California Irvine, Traffic Injury Prevention, September 2010). This data shows that improvements to both bicycle and pedestrian networks are needed in Orange County. We would like to commend the City Council and City Staff for their dedication to improving these modes. While funding for walking and biking comprise a small portion of the proposed Capital Improvement Program, we are pleased to learn that the City has applied for additional funding through the Bicycle Transportation Account, the Highway Safety Improvement Program, Cycle 1 O Safe Routes to School, and other funding sources. We hope that as these grants are received, they are quickly incorporated into the CIP and prioritized for implementation- With regards to the proposed CIP we would like to make the following suggestions: Page 1 oft