Foodies holding out hope for more food trucks in the downtown core will soon have a bad taste in their mouths.

Streetside cuisine is decidedly off the agenda at City Hall, as councillors juggle portfolios ranging from the Johnson Street Bridge to naming rights for the Victoria Conference Centre.

B次元官网网址淚t just wasnB次元官网网址檛 seen as a priority by council,B次元官网网址� said Coun. Lisa Helps, who has been advocating for for more than a year. B次元官网网址淔ood carts can enhance the vibrancy of downtown, and goodness knows our downtown could use a dose of vibrancy these days.B次元官网网址�

Grab-and-go food options in Vancouver and Calgary have exploded in the past three years, thanks to relaxed municipal licensing inspired by the infamous success of a downtown block of food carts in Portland, Ore.

But Victoria is failing to seize the opportunity of an easy-to-implement revitalization tool for the downtown core, said Ramesh Espinoza, co-owner of Puerto Vallarta Amigos.

His Mexican cuisine food truck is regularly parked in a private lot at Yates and Wharf streets.

B次元官网网址淰ictoria is one of the cities with more restaurants per capita, but the workforce needs more (affordable) take-out options,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淎nd a lot of people only have half an hour for lunch.B次元官网网址�

EspinozaB次元官网网址檚 family business was the first of several food trucks to be approved for operation on private property in Victoria, but the bureaucratic red tape made the start-up onerous.

B次元官网网址淚t took about six months to find a space and get all the permits. No one had dealt with anything like this before,B次元官网网址� he said. VictoriaB次元官网网址檚 tourism draw and walkability make it an ideal candidate for streetside fare, Espinoza added.

Helps agreed, but said any movement will have to take place when the dust settles on budgeting and other priorities.

B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 going to have to wait until the 2014 election,B次元官网网址� she said.

dpalmer@vicnews.com