43
Trumbull MetroParks to allow food vendors on Greenway
By Ed Runyan
WARREN
The people running the Trumbull County MetroParks believe they can make the experience of biking or walking the Western Reserve Greenway or using other MetroParks more enjoyable if they allow vendors to operate food trucks there.
To make that happen, the MetroParks board recently established a permitting process that includes a deadline of 3 p.m. April 24 to submit an application to operate such a truck.
Zachary Svette, operations director for MetroParks, said the organization doesn’t have an operating levy, so inviting vendors to provide food to park visitors is a way to provide an amenity at no cost.
A side benefit will be if the food trucks attract additional visitors, he said.
So far, several potential vendors have obtained a permit application, and one application has been submitted, Svette said.
He probably will recommend to the MetroParks board that the trucks be allowed to park close to the roadway in front of a couple of the parks — possibly the Sunside Trailhead along state Route 305 in Champion Township and Clarence Darrow MetroPark on Educational Highway in Champion.
Sunside Trailhead has a large parking area — 58 spaces — one of the biggest on the Greenway. He estimates as many as 400 cars come and go on an average Saturday or Sunday during warm weather.
The trailhead also is near the baseball fields in Champion and not far from Mosquito Lake State Park, so food trucks could attract visitors just passing by, he noted. Clarence Darrow is near Kent State University at Trumbull and the Trumbull Career and Technical Center and has a disc golf course.
Svette said the MetroParks board will decide how many permits to issue and what parks they can use.
Svette said he found it surprising that he was unable to find another park district in the area that uses food trucks, but when he talked with other park officials, many seemed interested in the idea.