By LARRY NEUMEISTER
Associated Press

NEW YORK - A federal appeals court ruled Wednesday that New York City did not vio-late the First Amendment by limiting billboards along its roadways and parks.

The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan said the city's goals of reducing vis-ual clutter, improving the overall aesthetic appearance of the city and regulating traffic safety were reasonable.

"The fact that the city has chosen to value some types of commercial speech over others does not make the regulation irrational," the appeals court said. It concluded that it did not matter that the city had enforced its regulations sporadically since 1940.

A lower-court judge reached the same conclusion in the case last year. That ruling was appealed by companies, including Clear Channel Outdoor Inc. and Metro Fuel LLC, that market hundreds of billboards.

They said the city infringed on commercial speech rights by stiffening rules against bill-boards and lighted signs near parks and highways while letting smaller signs flourish on lampposts, taxicabs and phone booths. A lawyer for the companies did not immediately return a phone message for comment.

The appeals court said the city may allow advertising on street furniture while also re-ducing clutter on city sidewalks.

"Allowing some signs does not constitutionally require a city to allow all similar signs," the three-judge panel said. "The city's interests in aesthetics, preservation of neighbor-hood character and traffic safety continue to be advanced, even though limited and con-trolled advertising is permitted on street furniture."

Since 1940, the city has banned commercial billboards that don't advertise on-premises businesses near major roads.

Clear Channel derives about $10 million annually from operating 236 sign faces in the city. Metro Fuel operates about 440 internally illuminated panel signs, each about 23 square feet, in the city.