Denver is banning food trucks downtown — again

Denver is reviving a controversial policy that bans food trucks in the city's busiest bar district on weekend nights in an effort to break up crowds and curb crime in Lower Downtown.

Why it matters: The ban — which comes as violent crime in the area trends down — has again drawn backlash from the local business community.

Flashback: The crackdown on food truck operators was first put in place in July 2022 following a police shooting in LoDo that injured six bystanders, though law enforcement denied the restrictions were prompted by the incident.

• The unpopular policy was partially repealed about a month later after garnering national media attention and legal threats over its constitutionality.

The latest: Starting Friday, food trucks can no longer park on blocks between 18th and 21st streets along Blake, Market and Larimer streets, or on 21st between Market and Larimer, from 10pm to 3am on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.

• The policy experiment — backed by Denver Mayor Mike Johnston and the police department — is one of a slew of solutions city leaders are trying to tamp down crime. That includes a similar program for rideshare apps and increasing police presence in the area.

What they're saying: "When bars let out in LoDo, individuals tend to congregate and it can result in violence and public safety issues," Johnston's spokesperson Jordan Fuja told Axios Denver in a statement.

• Johnston's office insists "this is not a food truck ban," but instead a "pilot program that disperses the areas food trucks can operate," Fuja added.

The intrigue: The mayor's move marks a 180-degree turn from his stance last year on the campaign trail, when he indicated during a debate that he would bring back food trucks to downtown's late-night scene.

The other side: Food truck owners are infuriated and feel unfairly targeted. "Moving half a block away would essentially be me restarting a whole new business," food truck operator Alex Salomon told 9News . "So essentially, this is cutting me off completely."

• "This ban doesn't even make any sense," Institute for Justice attorney Justin Pearson told the Denver Post . The city is "taking away options for people to sober up before they head home. That is a horrible idea."

What's next: Denver police will monitor the impact of the policy and make future decisions based on those outcomes, Fuja told Axios Denver.