75A - PH - MOBILE FOOD VENDING - Laserfiche WebLink

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staff, that to maintain visibility of traffic and traffic control devices, vending trucks (stop to operate /conduct business at any location) are prohibited within 100' of intersections and marked or unmarked crosswalks. Vending prohibited on streets where posted speed is 35 mph or greater. The City recently approved Safe Mobility Santa Ana, which analyzed causes and correlation of traffic collisions for a ten year period. The study determined that, while arterial streets constitute only 21% of the roadway network in the City, over 60% of collisions involving severely injured or killed pedestrians and bicyclists occur on arterial streets where speeds are typically 35 mph or higher. In the opinion of Engineering staff, the presence of vending trucks on streets with speed limits greater than 35 mph creates a hazardous condition by obstructing visibility to view pedestrians, bicyclists, and traffic control devices, providing an attraction for patrons to cross streets at midblock locations, and creates the potential for customers to block sidewalk requiring pedestrians to enter the motor vehicle path. Additional Mobile Vending Health and Safety Issues Encountered by Santa Ana Police Department The Santa Ana Police Department has reported that during recent years, mobile vending trucks have attracted individuals engaged in the sales of narcotics. At times it has been employees of the mobile vending trucks and more frequently individuals who use the vending trucks as a way to blend in with the environment to give their illegal activity a perception of legitimacy. The illegal activity has included narcotics sales and illegal sale of cigarettes. It is also known that many gang members use the mobile vending trucks as a way to conceal narcotics and firearms in order to prevent being in possession of the items when contacted by the police. It is not unusual for truck operators to be intimidated by gang members and feel obligated to pay a "tax" to the local gang(s). Mobile vending trick operators have also been victims of crimes from robbery to homicide. A high concentration of vending trucks are found in the most challenging gang areas of the city and exacerbate the quality of life /crime related issues in those areas. Many of the vending trucks sell replica /toy firearms. As such often times guns purchased from the vending tracks have been used to perpetrate crimes. Those firearms have also been used by vending trick operators as a feint form of protection. The toy /replica firearms being sold in areas with a high concentration of vending tricks may lead to disastrous results to the prevalence of real firearms and violent crime in some of those areas. Vending tricks post both pedestrian and traffic related problems. Many of the vendors set out chairs and tables along the curb /sidewalk areas which can obstruct the use of the public walkway by those not patronizing the vending track. Due to the size of mobile vending tricks and their common presence in some of the most densely populated areas of Santa Ana the risk for 75A -12