Why are food trucks under attack at Drexel?
It’s hard to see why Drexel is so hard on these vendors.
Unless something changes at the last minute, this is the last day for the popular food trucks around Drexel’s West Philadelphia campus.
The “when” has been reported by the Inquirer, but less so the “why” and especially the “how.” The paper reported the university was suddenly going to enforce “city vending laws.” The “why” is a mystery.
Drexel notified the food trucks it would begin enforcing a city ordinance requiring vendors to vacate their parking spot each night. Truck operators said if they did that, they wouldn't be able to find a place to park in the morning. They would be out of business.
The story did not indicate why Drexel decided to enforce the regs now, nor why it falls on Drexel to enforce city regulations that ban vending between midnight and 7 a.m.
An L&I spokeswoman said it enforces mobile vending rules, but inspections are done only during daylight hours. No one gets the night shift?
I’m glad fire and police don’t restrict their hours of operation to daylight.
As for the feared Philadelphia Parking Authority, a spokesman said PPA doesn’t oversee vending zones, that Drexel can write tickets, and all fines collected would go to the city.
Drexel seems to have a grudge against the iconic food trucks, having tried to get rid of them in the past, according to the Inquirer. Again, why?
Despite a week’s worth of emails and calls to Drexel’s seven-member communications department (according to its website) no one responded to my request for information.
Let’s change the school mascot from fearsome dragon to fearful chameleon.
At Temple, food trucks operate within a designated zone, with rules regarding parking, power connections, trash removal, as well as a requirement to notify the school when taking time off.
Famously, that was once how former mayor John Street earned a living.
Most universities and food trucks have a symbiotic relationship — one supports the other.
It’s hard to see why Drexel is so hard on these vendors. There should be an accommodation so that these two can live in peace.
But Drexel’s circle-the-wagons, stonewall approach makes it impossible to penetrate the mystery.
