City Officials Have No Sweet Tooth For Ice Cream Trucks
By Charles Sercombe
Remember that childhood ditty that went, “You scream, I scream, we all scream for ice cream”?
Well, city officials are singing a slightly different tune, but it certainly involves ice cream, namely a ban on allowing ice cream truck drivers from parking on residential streets and on lots and yards.
Yes, they park on yards.
DPW Superintendent Martin Ladd said there’s been a growing annoyance with truck owners parking their vehicles on lots, yards and driveways throughout the city. He said a number of Detroit truck owners park their vehicles in Hamtramck during the winter because they think Hamtramck is safer.
“They have no place to park, don’t trust Detroit and park in Hamtramck,” Ladd said.
The sight of several trucks herded together is considered — “HELLO” — blight, Ladd said.
But the proposed ordinance banning ice cream trucks sent chills down the spines of taxi cab drivers. Their vehicles are technically covered in the ordinance because the ordinance calls for a ban on all commercial vehicles.
Banning taxis, said City Council candidate Kazi Miah, will hurt taxi drivers who make a living driving cabs and don’t have any other place to park their cabs.
Ladd conceded he “overshot” the intention of his proposed ordinance and didn’t mean to include taxis.
“I don’t want to run businesses out,” he said.
The council also agreed that taxis are not the problem. Ladd said he will tinker with the ordinance to include specific language on the meaning of commercial vehicles. He said, however, the ban would also include panel trucks and independent tow truck drivers who park their vehicles in residential areas.
Now, if the city could only do something about those annoying ice cream truck jingles.
Seriously how much of a problem could this be? if there is no current ban on commercial vehicles parking in parking lots like some truck drivers do as well as ambulances, patrol cars and delivery trucks for some businesses, why start now? usually something like this happens because one person gets a bug in their butt and decide to punish everyone for one persons mistake. Simply put, if its on a city street and not in front of a house and is not there for more than 48 hours and is not broken into and looking abandoned, then i see no problem. If they park illegally like on another persons lawn, or in a “do not park” zone or let the vehicle sit for more than 48 hours then they run risk of a ticket and/or a tow. Sure they think hamtramck is safer to park than detroit, but shouldnt we take that as a compliment?
How about this idea, it will make the city happy, the drivers happy and maybe make some residents happy: sell a parking permit for like $30 a month, it makes us money, they get to park legally in designated parking lots where there’s room like behind shoppers world and on the edges of the main plaza at holbrook and JC. heck paint a yellow dotted line and designate an area in the lots for them, I mean lets take these lemons and make lemonade people. We cant be afraid of lending a hand in these times of need and taking a chance for a good opportunity.