Mpls. Expands Number of Food-Truck Vendors

From the Institute of Justice: 

Here’s an idea that’ll probably be about as popular with drivers as 20 blocks of gridlock traffic. For obvious reasons, city drivers love parking that’s free or cheap. The problem is that too many drivers love it too much. The price difference between on-the-street parking and putting a car in the downtown garage is so big—perhaps a couple of bucks per hour versus $10 or $15 per hour—that hunting for one of the precious few available spots can seem like a (somewhat) sensible use of time. Or at least not a total waste of time.

Here’s an idea that’ll probably be about as popular with drivers as 20 blocks of gridlock traffic. For obvious reasons, city drivers love parking that’s free or cheap. The problem is that too many drivers love it too much. The price difference between on-the-street parking and putting a car in the downtown garage is so big—perhaps a couple of bucks per hour versus $10 or $15 per hour—that hunting for one of the precious few available spots can seem like a (somewhat) sensible use of time. Or at least not a total waste of time.

The price of public parking in downtown Chicago is about to go up for the fifth year in a row, enough to give the Windy City the dubious distinction of having the most expensive parking meters in the country.

"In keeping with an exploding North American trend, the appetite for truck grub is increasing in Toronto: over 300 food trucks are licensed to operate, and many trendy ‘gourmet food truck’ businesses have sprung up in the greater Toronto area in the past year or two, offering everything from fish tacos to maple-bacon doughnuts. 

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