Portland, Tampa, Philly, Los Angeles, etc. have all successfully incorporated locations into their cores for food truck courts that have generated additional foot traffic to the benefit of the entire environment. At the very least, it would make sense to truly study and evaluate the pros and cons of their incorporation before abruptly making a decision clearly based on something that can be proven as untrue with a simple google search or day trip to downtown Tampa.
Unfortunately, this is so predictable its pretty easy to see where things will go before we flush tons of public money down the drain once again, giving those against downtown more momentum to turn the spigot completely off. Cities are organic and innovation and creativity can't be shut down by the fear of a few. The stuff being shut out will eventually adapt and grow in another section of town. From the line of ethnic restaurants and businesses lining Baymeadows and the reemergence of Park & King, to the artist and breweries clustering around the intersection of Park & King, real life examples are already there. All of these places have benefitted at the expense of being shut out of downtown. So while we move chairs around Hemming, only to see people still not show up regularly, what will be the next district to boom? Will it be Edgewood Avenue on Murray Hill, Hendricks/San Marco Boulevard in San Marco, Main Street in Springfield, St. Nicholas Town Center, Riverside's King Street, etc? Which district is about to hit a market rate home run first is the only unpredictable thing I see out there.
Nevertheless, I do wonder how will we create a vibrant creative class environment when the people and businesses that are needed to build these places are continuously closed out from truly participating in them.
