10 No Brainers to Make Toronto More Awesome! is a project of the Centre for City Ecology that highlights small, achievable actions at the City-level that would improve life in Toronto’s neighbourhoods, right now. A series of 10 short videos will be released on Spacing Toronto from Sept. 15-19, highlighting 10 No Brainers contributed by a diverse cast of Torontonians. The project will wrap up with a free Pop-Up Event where City Council candidates can pitch which No Brainer they’d champion at City Hall and the public can join in the conversation: October 9 in the East End.
Food trucks have been a hot topic in Toronto over the past year, with the introduction of a new Mobile Food Vending Permit and the high prices and tight restrictions that come along with it.
Zane Caplansky, owner of Caplansky’s Deli and Toronto’s first food truck, Thunderin’ Thelma, proposes his No Brainer to open Toronto’s core to food trucks. By altering the permitting fees and restrictions, Toronto could welcome food trucks into our downtown, adding vibrancy to our streets and providing new food entrepreneurs with a point of entry into the restaurant business.
3 comments
I’ve spoken to Zane about this very topic several times and I agree with his ideas and concept whole heartedly. Having been to places in the US where food trucks are part of the core of the cities, I think it would be a wonderful addition to the City of Toronto. Bring on food trucks!!
While I happen to agree with him, it is kind of self-serving coming from Mr. Caplansky. Can we next ask condo developers if they think towers should be taller?
I worked in NYC for 7 years and with few exceptions, space efficient vendor carts, not food trucks, are part of the fabric of the city. The same thing is mostly the case in Toronto with the exception of the embarrassing block of City Hall trucks, and ice cream trucks that wander the city.
The trucks run their motors that power the generators at all times. In addition to noise, the trucks and generators give off powerful diesel fumes.
Even out in Toronto’s large parks, the food trucks managed to annoy their neighbours.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/noise-complaints-oust-food-trucks-from-woodbine-park-1.1351279
Caplansky wanted a better location, arguing – “People who go in parks are unemployed people, people walking their dogs or people looking to score sex or drugs—not people looking for food.”