Food Trucks To Be Legislated Out of Existence?

[Tacachale]

The difference is that the food trucks, by being present everyday, will ensure that survival is difficult for existing restaurants, and encourage potential entrepreneurs to open elsewhere.     

Food trucks aren't scaring away new businesses to the core. The fact that I can open a restaurant in Five Points (where there is life) for less money than I can Downtown (where there is little life) is what's encouraging potential entreprenuers to open elsewhere.

+1. If we're really worried about bringing life to downtown, there are dozens of things we can fix besides trying to obliterate one of the things that does bring life to downtown.

[Josh]

Hasn't the owner of the downtown Quizno's been a pretty vocal opponent of the food trucks since Day 1?

Yup, that's her.

Personally, I've never gone back since one time I went there and told her at checkout I ordered a large sub, but she rang it up as a medium and made a huge stink about her hearing me say something other than what I actually did when a large sub came out of the toaster. That's right lady, you caught me.....

[pierre]

I have to say I am pretty impressed by the reaction online and around town to this story.

[mtraininjax]

Your snarkiness Stephen is very unbecoming.

He's just getting warmed up, get him going on I'm with Alvin!


I see the food trucks in NYC all along the East side of Union Square. There are events in Union Square that feature people selling items, like an ETSY display. Meanwhile the big box stores are all around the square and somehow, just somehow, they survive.

How are the hot vendors going to survive the food trucks? OMG?

The fear of existing owners is that they do not realize that MORE people eating downtown creates a bigger pie for everyone. Forget what you are doing today, you can expand that by x% over the next year and it is because of more people coming downtown. The lack of vision in our great town is staggering at times.

[ben says]

Leadership in this city blows. Someone help propel me into office.

[Dog Walker]

Every time I've been in the Ed Ball Building it looks like the Brick is doing just fine.  I've just had their coffee which is better than most.

I'm sure it's the hotdog guy across from Greyhound that is hurting Quizno's business.  Better food and service.

[DeadGirlsDontDance]

Liveblogging the Council Meeting!
http://www.metrojacksonville.com/forum/index.php/topic,20910.0.html

[obsidian]

I have a rough draft of an interactive map showing the permitted and restricted areas for food trucks at the link below.  This is just the first effort and only used the area restrictions in the ordinance.  I hope to refine it with the other point data, depending on availability.  I've included "commercial" zoning but there are a number of zoning classes that I'm uncertain about, so any help on this is appreciated.

http://courtdocmaps.com/communitymaps.html

[DeadGirlsDontDance]

I have a rough draft of an interactive map showing the permitted and restricted areas for food trucks at the link below.  This is just the first effort and only used the area restrictions in the ordinance.  I hope to refine it with the other point data, depending on availability.  I've included "commercial" zoning but there are a number of zoning classes that I'm uncertain about, so any help on this is appreciated.

http://courtdocmaps.com/communitymaps.html

So, food trucks can operate at Craig Field, NAS Jax, Timucuan Preserve, and in the river. Nice.

[Charles Hunter]

Great map.
What is the distance from a park?  Are the riverwalks "parks"?

[obsidian]

Take a look at the Permitted map, it narrows the possibilities a bit.

[obsidian]

Thanks Charles Hunter.  I used a 500 foot buffer for parks, residential and cn zoning.

[obsidian]

Re: Riverwalks, that is one of the areas where I hoped one of the planners would be able to clear up.  Additionally some of the pocket park are not buffered because my dataset does not show them as such for property use.  So a lot of work yet to be done for a complete map.

[thelakelander]

Great map. I was considering making one myself, but you've already done it.  I think most of downtown would be excluded once everything that's considered a public park or plaza has a 500' buffer.

[obsidian]

Thanks Lake.  I agree, I've been manually selecting the DT parks to be added later.  Of course there is the 300' B&M buffers to be added.  If I can locate layers on curbs and sidewalks, that will reduce it even more.  Any suggestion on how CRO, PBFs, etc. should be handed?