WASHINGTON DC – A lottery system for food truck operators in the District of Columbia is about to start.

The new system, which begins today, will allot assigned spaces to participating trucks for their exclusive use every weekday. They’ll be able to park in the spaces for four hours.

District officials say the lottery is intended to bring predictability to the city’s food truck scene, which until now has permitted operators to park wherever they choose.

The assigned spaces are located in spots where trucks tend to congregate to serve the lunch crowd, including Franklin Square, Farragut Square, L’Enfant Plaza and Metro Center.

Trucks that don’t participate can still sell food on district streets, but they have to stay at least 200 feet away from the designated locations and pay parking meter fees.

So in other terms…the government has gotten into the business of playing a game with small business owner’s livelihood. With this new lottery system truck owners will have to “win” a parking space? This may be one of the worst ideas we’ve seen a city come up with to “eliminate” food truck concerns from restaurant owners. It’s no wonder two of the most popular DC area food trucks have closed their service windows for good in recent weeks.