New Jersey Administrative Code
Title 16 - TRANSPORTATION
Chapter 41B - NEWSPAPER BOXES ON STATE HIGHWAY RIGHT-OF-WAY
Subchapter 4 - LOCATION, INSTALLATION AND MAINTENANCE OF NEWS DISPENSERS
Section 16:41B-4.1 - General requirements
Universal Citation: NJ Admin Code 16:41B-4.1
Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 6, March 18, 2024
(a) News dispensers may be placed adjacent to the wall of a building but shall not be separated from such wall by more than six inches. Unless otherwise prohibited in this section, news dispensers may be placed within one and one-half feet of a gutterline or within one foot thereof in areas where the distance from the gutterline to the far edge of the sidewalk is less than six and one-half feet wide.
(b) Placement of news dispensers within the State highway right-of-way is prohibited in the following locations:
1. Within the traveled way, shoulders, acceleration or deceleration lanes of any State highway;
2. Within medians, jug handles, channelizing islands and along ramps;
3. Within three feet of any marked crosswalk;
4. Within the curved portion of a curb return (from point of tangency to point of tangency), as illustrated in the diagram below, except that news dispensers may be placed adjacent to the wall of a building as set forth in (a) above notwithstanding this paragraph;
5. Within five feet of any fire hydrant, fire call box, police call box, or other emergency facility;
6. Within three feet of any driveway;
7. Within 10 feet to the rear of any sign or other demarcation marking the beginning of a designated bus stop as illustrated in the diagram below;
8. Within three feet of any bus bench, except where such bench is within a bus shelter, in which event this restriction shall not apply provided that the news dispenser is not placed within such bus shelter;
9. Within the public sidewalk curb ramp designed to accommodate persons with disabilities;
10. Where the placement of the news dispenser would reduce the width of the sidewalk to less than three feet; and
11. Where the speed limit is 45 mph or above, placement of news dispensers is prohibited within the clear zone, subject to the following exceptions:
i. News dispensers shall be permitted within the clear zone in close proximity to fixed objects which might operate to impede the safe recovery of errant vehicles to the traveled way, or bus shelters, but shall be no closer to the traveled way than said fixed object or bus shelter. For the limited purpose of this exception, clusters or rows of a maximum of three news dispensers positioned adjacent to one another are permissible, provided that at least one of the aforesaid news dispensers in each row or cluster be at least partially within five feet of the aforesaid object. As to bus shelters only, there shall be no restrictions placed upon the number of news dispensers permitted within close proximity thereto, provided they be positioned adjacent to one another and provided that at least one of the aforesaid news dispensers be within five feet of the bus shelter.
ii. Even where there are no fixed objects which might operate to impede the safe recovery of errant vehicles, news dispensers shall be permitted within the clear zone where there are sidewalks or walkways, but shall be placed on the far side thereof.
iii. News dispensers shall be permitted within the clear zone on the near side of a sidewalk or walkway, or in the grassy area, as close to the sidewalk or walkway as practicable, but only where it is not practicable to be on the far side of the sidewalk or walkway or in close proximity to a fixed object.
iv. News dispensers shall be permitted in areas within the clear zone where there are no fixed objects which might operate to impede the safe recovery of an errant vehicle to the traveled way, sidewalks or walkways but only in areas where pedestrians gather for other purposes. These areas include bus stops and park and ride facilities. Placement of a news dispenser pursuant to this exception shall be at least seven and one half feet away from the gutterline where practicable and shall be placed to service only the area where pedestrians gather.
v. Circumstances referred to in (b)11iii and iv above which will render placement of news dispensers not "practicable" include, for example, where news dispensers would encroach upon private property, block display windows, or where there are unacceptable ground conditions, such as a ditch, which prevent the placement of or access to a news dispenser.
(c) Any news dispenser which in whole or in part rests upon, in, or over the State highway right-of-way shall comply with the following standards:
1. Unless otherwise agreed to by the Department, news dispensers shall not exceed five feet in height, 36 inches in width, or 30 inches in depth;
2. News dispensers may be chained or otherwise attached to one another; however, no more than three news dispensers may be joined together in this manner, and a space of no less than 18 inches shall separate each group of three news dispensers so attached.
3. No news dispenser shall be used for advertising signs or publicity purposes other than that dealing with the display, sale, or purchase of a newspaper or periodical sold therein.
4. Every news dispenser placed on the State highway right-of-way shall have affixed thereto in a place where such information may be easily seen, the name, address, and telephone number of the owner and person (if different from the owner) responsible for maintaining the news dispenser.
5. Any news dispenser maintained on any State right-of-way which creates an imminent, unreasonable hazard to pedestrians or traffic or interferes with the response to an emergency situation by a public officer, fire fighter, ambulance corps or medic, may be summarily relocated to the nearest location not presenting said hazard. Any such relocation shall be reported as soon as reasonably possible to the owner of the news dispenser who shall relocate the news dispenser to any location which is in compliance with the terms of this chapter.
6. Unless otherwise approved by the Department, no news dispenser shall be chained, bolted or otherwise attached to any public fixture located within the State highway right-of-way, including, but not limited to, official signs, sign supports, guide rails, traffic signal supports, highway lighting supports, controller boxes, fire hydrants or bus shelters.
7. News dispensers shall be securely placed so as to reasonably prevent personal injury or property damage due to tilting, tipping or overturning.
8. Every news dispenser shall be maintained so that:
i. It is reasonably free of dirt and grease;
ii. It is reasonably free of chipped, faded, peeling and cracked paint;
iii. It is reasonably free of rust and corrosion; and
iv. The structural parts thereof are intact.
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