Hillview principal vs. ice cream trucks Hillview principal vs. ice cream trucks (March 02, 2005)

Ice cream's a dream for some, but not for principal Mike Moore -- when it idles in a truck near Hillview Middle School.

While Mr. Moore says he has nothing against the sweet stuff, he says a particular ice cream truck has become worrisome, parking on Elder Avenue almost every day and worsening traffic problems when lessons let out.

"More importantly, however, the ice cream truck serves as an attractive nuisance for children, drawing them to cut across the parking lot and the street, through the busy traffic," he wrote in a February 14 letter to the Menlo Park City Council.

That's why Mr. Moore is asking the council to pass a municipal law prohibiting ice cream trucks from stopping within "some reasonable distance of schools in the city."

"We are concerned for the safety of our students," he wrote.

Menlo Park Police Chief Chris Boyd agrees that the safety concern is valid but said it's worth looking at less dramatic options first, such as allowing the ice cream truck to park on the Hillview campus.

The council is expected to discuss Mr. Moore's letter at the March 1 meeting and decide whether to place it on a later agenda for further action. The meeting begins at 7 p.m. in the council chambers at 701 Laurel St.

The council agenda makes no mention of whether the repeated playing of "Turkey in the Straw" should be against the law.

E-mail a friend a link to this story.