Pricing the Use of Public Rights-of-Way

Abstract

The public rights-of-way (ROW) managed by local governments have been a source of perennial conflict between municipalities, utilities, and other private companies that require access to ROWin order to distribute their services. In recent years, advances in telecommunications technology and new federal legislative initiatives have combined to create much greater demands for public ROWoccupancy and simultaneously limit the authority of local governments to regulate and charge entities for the use of ROW. Accordingly, local governments have devised and implemented a variety of fee-based mechanisms to collect revenue from private firms in exchange for their use of public ROW. This article explores the various fee structures that have evolved for permitting or applying for ROWoccupancy, obstruction or disruption, excavation or degradation, use or rental, or franchised use. It also reports briefly on the limits to local ROW management authority created by federal legislation.