§ 19-4. Location of vending boxes.

(a) In general.

Any newspaper vending box which rests in whole or in part upon, in, or on any portion of a public right-of-way in the downtown area, or which projects onto, into, or over any part of a public right-of-way in the downtown area, shall be located in accordance with the provisions of this section.

(b) Placement in roadway prohibited.

No newspaper vending box shall be located in whole or in part in any roadway.

(c) Other prohibited placements.

(1) The provisions contained in paragraph (3)(i) to (v) of this subsection shall not apply if such provisions would prohibit the placement of newspaper vending boxes for a distance of 100 feet on the same side of the street in the same block.

(2) "Crosswalk" means the area marked by the outside edges of the 2 parallel lines indicating the crosswalk, and not by the car stop line running parallel to the crosswalk.

(3) No newspaper vending box shall be placed, installed, used, or maintained:

(i) within 12 inches of any marked crosswalk;

(ii) within 12 inches of the line marked by the extension of the interior edge of the sidewalk, in the absence of a marked crosswalk;

(iii) within 3 feet of either end of any bus stop bench located within 3 feet of the curb;

(iv) within any designated bus stop along the curb;

(v) within 75 feet of any other newspaper vending box on the same side of the street in the same block containing the same issue or edition of the same publication, unless the box be a double box or 2 boxes located together as provided for in § 19-3(b);

(vi) within 3 feet of any fire hydrant or 3 feet from the front of any fire call box, police call box, or other emergency facility;

(vii) within 3 feet of any driveway; or

(viii) at any location where the clear space for the passageway of pedestrians is reduced to less than 4 feet.

(d) Near curb, roadway, or structure.

(1) Newspaper vending boxes shall be located only:

(i) near the curb or, if there be no curb, the edge of the roadway; or

(ii) along the building, wall, or other structure.

(2) Newspaper vending boxes located near the curb shall be located no less than 12 inches nor more than 24 inches from the roadway edge of the curb.

(3) Newspaper vending boxes located adjacent to a building, wall, or other structure shall be located parallel to and not more than 6 inches from the wall thereof.

(e) Groupings.

(1) Newspaper vending boxes may be placed next to each other, provided that no group of newspaper vending boxes shall extend for a distance of more than 8 feet along a curb, and a space of not less than 3 feet shall separate each group of newspaper vending boxes.

(2) No newspaper vending box shall be located on a sidewalk or parkway directly opposite another newspaper vending box unless the distance between them is at least 8 feet.

(f) Attachments — special fixtures erected by City.

(1) The City may, after notice to (or request from) and consultation with each newspaper distributor who has a newspaper box or boxes at any particular location, erect structural tube pipe fixtures (U-shaped type or post type) to which newspaper vending boxes may be attached.

(2) The City shall, to the extent possible, place any such fixtures in the proximity to the location of existing newspaper vending boxes, the corner of the intersection, and pedestrian traffic so as to maximize the convenience and availability to the public of any newspaper vending boxes to be attached to any such fixtures.

(3) When such a fixture has been erected by the City, no newspaper vending box shall be placed on the same side of the street on the same block within 75 feet of that fixture if a vacancy exists in the fixture. If no vacancy exists, then newspaper vending boxes may be placed at any location otherwise in compliance with the provisions of this section.

(g) Attachments — use of existing fixtures.

(1) Newspaper vending boxes shall not be attached to any:

(i) fire hydrant, fire call box, police call box, or other emergency facility; or

(ii) sign post with a diameter of 2½ inches or less.

(2) A newspaper vending box may be attached to any other fixture located in the public right-of-way, at any point on the post, if:

(i) its location is in compliance with the provisions of this section; and

(ii) so as to minimize lateral movement, it is securely cinched to said fixture by means of a vinyl-coated cable that is:

(A) color coded to match the box or fixture; and

(B) designed to avoid damage to the fixture.

(h) Attachments — to ground.

(1) A newspaper vending box may be free-standing or may be attached to any concrete City sidewalk by bolts or other devices if its location is in compliance with the provisions of this section.

(2) Upon removal of any such box, any bolt holes or other damage to the sidewalk shall be repaired by the newspaper distributor whose newspaper vending box caused the holes or damage.