Cite as: 507 U. S. 410 (1993)
Rehnquist, C. J., dissenting
on speech imposed by its prohibition." Ibid. The implication being that, if Cincinnati had studied the problem in greater detail, it would have discovered that it could have accomplished its desired ends by regulating the "size, shape, appearance, or number" of all newsracks, rather than categorically banning only those newsracks that disseminate commercial speech. Ibid. Despite its protestations to the contrary, see ante, at 417, n. 13, this argument rests on the discredited notion that the availability of "less restrictive means" to accomplish the city's objectives renders its regulation of commercial speech unconstitutional. As we observed in Fox, "almost all of the restrictions disallowed under Central Hudson's fourth prong have been substantially excessive, disregarding far less restrictive and more precise means." 492 U. S., at 479 (internal quotation marks omitted). That there may be other—less restrictive—means by which Cincinnati could have gone about addressing its safety and esthetic concerns, then, does not render its prohibition against respondents' newsracks unconstitutional.
Nor does the fact that, if enforced, the city's prohibition would result in the removal of only 62 newsracks from its street corners. The Court attaches significance to the lower courts' findings that any benefit that would be derived from the removal of respondents' newsracks would be " 'minute' " or " 'paltry.' " Ante, at 418. The relevant inquiry, though, is not the degree to which the locality's interests are furthered in a particular case, but rather the relation that the challenged regulation of commercial speech bears to the "overall problem" the locality is seeking to alleviate. Ward v. Rock Against Racism, 491 U. S. 781, 801 (1989). This follows from our test for reviewing the validity of "time, place, or manner" restrictions on noncommercial speech, which we have said is "substantially similar" to the Central Hudson analysis. Board of Trustees of State University of N. Y. v. Fox, supra, at 477 (internal quotation
441
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