Saratoga News

New newsracks headed for locations in Saratoga

By Sarah Lombardo

The mismatched newsracks that line Big Basin Way and dot the map in various locations in Saratoga will soon be only a memory to local merchants. Newspaper officials have banded together with the help of city staff to create new newsrack standards for the city, and the new racks could be installed as soon as August.

The idea was born within the Saratoga Chamber of Commerce, which had tried a few times over the years to get rid of the unsightly newsracks. Last year, the Saratoga Rotary Club joined the ranks of those wanting to improve the look of the new racks. In February, the city and newspapers themselves stepped in and began discussions.

A Saratoga Newsrack Committee was formed with representatives of participating newspapers, who will be responsible for making sure the newsracks comply with the standards and are maintained.

The result: modular, off-white newsracks with black pedestals and product decals only on front. The newspapers themselves are paying for the cost of the new racks and the installation, which means the project isn't costing the city a dime.

"It's all self-funded and self-regulated," said Jennie Hwang Loft, an administrative analyst in the city manager's office. "All the city did was work with them."

Loft helped the committee work out an agreement between the papers for the upkeep and design of the racks, and the City Council unanimously approved the new standards June 3.

A number of cities recently have adopted newsrack standards, primarily in response to complaints from businesses and residents. The town of Los Gatos, after which Saratoga's standards were modeled, passed an ordinance regulating newsracks in November 1996, and San Francisco has been working on newsrack changes.

Loft said officials from newspapers distributed in Saratoga were interested in handling the changes themselves.

"They really wanted to do the self-regulating system rather than have the city do it," she said. "The cooperation among all the newspapers has been incredible. That's why you're seeing it happen so much faster than it has in other places."

Loft said the first new newsracks are tentatively scheduled for installation August 11.

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