By: Joe Strupp City officials in Fort Worth, Texas are considering new restrictions on the placement of newspaper boxes in the city's downtown area, which would limit the number of news racks and impose a fee for each publication placing them, according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. The newspaper said city leaders claimed the boxes were "unsightly and a potential safety hazard if they block access to sidewalks and businesses."
The paper reported Wednesday that rules being proposed would allow only four boxes at each corner of an intersection and eight on each side of a block. In addition, no publication would be allowed to have more than two boxes per intersection.
Daily newspapers would get priority for space, followed by weeklies and monthlies, the Star-Telegram reported. Newspaper companies would have to obtain permits for their boxes and pay a fee, estimated at $15 to $20 per box, Assistant City Attorney Sarah Fullenwider told the paper.
A majority of council members appeared on Tuesday to support the idea, according to the paper.
"They're ugly, they're distracting and they're degrading," Mayor Mike Moncrief told the Star-Telegram. "All you have to do is look at the growth our city is going through and picture these same boxes in front of the new convention center hotel."
Star-Telegram Publisher Wes Turner said his newspaper was concerned that the proposal would reduce the public's access to the newspaper. "While the proliferation of news boxes and free publication newsstands has certainly created an unsightly picture for downtown, we are very concerned about having to pay fees for news racks because of the cost as well as with the reduction of accessibility of the newspaper to our customers," Turner said in Wednesday's edition.
The city council may vote on the rules as early as May.
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