Ariz. city thaws its ban on ice cream trucks

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. Ice cream trucks have been frozen out of Scottsdale for decades, but a 16-year-old girl is the first to benefit from a recent thaw.

On Thursday, Mayor W.J. "Jim" Lane gave Sydney Kirsch the city's first ice cream truck license since the vehicles were banned in the 1970s.

The Phoenix high school student is the owner of Leo's Ice Cream, whose previous owner led an effort to overturn the ban.

Kirsch told The Arizona Republic that she'll balance ice cream duties with her school work and other extracurricular activities.

Some residents had opposed ice cream trucks, saying they would lead to more accidents involving children and more strangers on city streets.

But the Scottsdale City Council approved an ordinance in April allowing the trucks back on the Phoenix suburb's streets.