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Superboxes: The End Of Sidewalk Newspaper Dispensers?

Posted by: Michael Dudley

7 April 2006 - 8:00am

"Superboxes" may mean the days of seeing rows of newspaper boxes on sidewalks are numbered.

"The newspaper box, a fixture on street corners for decades, has come under fire in some of Canada's biggest urban centres. Officials in Vancouver and Toronto are moving toward introducing a new brand of newspaper superbox -- capable of housing several publications in one large vending machine -- in an effort to clean up street clutter.

Several U.S. cities have adopted similar boxes, including Chicago and San Francisco, where a consortium of publications including the San Francisco Chronicle and Los Angeles Times went to court to stop the city, but lost in 2002. In Toronto, where city officials say they are also concerned about too many boxes cluttering city streets, the matter may also be heading to court."

Full Story: Cities eye moving papers to superboxes
Source: The Globe and Mail, April 5, 2006
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A message for newspaper publishers

Submitted by RecordPlace on Fri, 04/07/2006 - 17:15.

I sincerely wish Vancouver (and every city) the best of luck in getting individual newsboxes off the sidewalks and into the "superboxes." Why is it that publishers refuse to maintain their newsboxes? Why is it that they are so stubborn to cooperate, or better yet, initiate, a program like this one? In all the cities I have visited, newsboxes are a problem--an unfriendly physical contribution to an otherwise attractive streetscape. They impede pedestrian flow, are often misaligned, dirty, damaged, vandalized, broken, used as trash receptacles, and just plain ugly. On a practical level, newspapers stored and distributed via a user-friendly "superbox" do next to nothing in the way of limiting free speech. Sure, a philosophical discussion may yield different answers. But let's not get carried away. Publications should open their eyes to see that, in fact, readership will increase as more people will be drawn to an attractive, accessible and concentrated source for their news. And for those publications that can't afford the rent: innovate. Find other, less intrusive outlets. You'll probably become more respected and read for it.
Indeed, there are bigger problems to be concerned about when it comes to urban vitality and quality of life, but details matter.

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