9.1. SR 11-20-2017 - Laserfiche WebLink

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7 MYTH #5: Food trucks are unsanitary “roach coaches.” REALITY: According to the available evidence, food trucks are generally just as clean and sanitary as restaurants. Just like restaurants, food trucks are subjected to health inspections on a regular basis. It is often the case that food-truck operators are inspected more frequently than their brick-and-mortar counterparts.51 Indeed, for a forthcoming report, the Institute for Justice reviewed health department sanitation grades in Los Angeles from May 2009 through May 2012 and found that, on average, the food trucks in that city are just as clean and sanitary as restaurants. MYTH #6: Food trucks cause harmful sidewalk congestion. REALITY: No evidence supports the assertion that food trucks cause harmful sidewalk congestion. Although critics of food trucks complain that they cause harmful sidewalk congestion, there is no evidence to support that claim. To test it, the Institute for Justice collected original data in Washington, D.C. Researchers measured foot traffic and congestion in locations where food trucks were present on several different days, in different locations, and during the busy hours surrounding lunch. They found that the presence of a food truck did not drastically increase foot traffic on the sidewalk. In fact, the average time it took a pedestrian to travel the block varied by only one second when a food truck was added.52 Furthermore, the researchers documented a phenomenon that is common to anyone who has seen a food truck in action: Customers spontaneously form a single-file line alongside the edge of a sidewalk so that other pedestrians have plenty of room to pass by. Because it is in the interest of the food trucks to maintain positive relationships with neighboring businesses and the community, food-truck owners and operators encourage their customers to keep their lines orderly. The Food Truck Association of Metropolitan Washington has formalized this practice by adopting a code of conduct in which they have pledged to “mak[e] regular announcements reminding customers in line to keep the sidewalk and any building entrances clear so as not to impede public access.”53 And, of course, cities can pass a law, like Los Angeles has done, that instructs food trucks not to operate in a manner “which will interfere with or obstruct the free passage of pedestrians or vehicles along any such street, sidewalk or parkway.”54 MYTH #7: Food trucks create a special trash problem because their customers are especially prone to littering. REALITY: Food-truck customers are not especially prone to littering, and food-truck operators act responsibly to ensure that trash is properly disposed.