Ontario Municipal Code Art. 9 Pedestrian Regulations

The City Traffic Engineer shall establish, designate, and maintain crosswalks at intersections and other places by appropriate devices, markings, or lines upon the surface of the roadway at all intersections within the Central Traffic District, at such intersections outside such district, and at other places within or outside the Central Traffic District where the City Traffic Engineer determines that it is particularly hazardous for pedestrians to cross the roadway.

(§ 9, Ord. 1651, eff. July 20, 1967)

No pedestrian shall cross a roadway other than a crosswalk in the Central Traffic District or in any business district.

(§ 9.1, Ord. 1651, eff. July 20, 1967)

(a) Purpose. The purpose of this section is to make public streets, public property and other areas readily accessible to the public and to prevent the willful and intentional obstruction of such property which interferes with the rights of others to use such areas for the purposes for which they are intended and to maintain public streets and areas within the city in a clean and accessible condition.

(b) Prohibited conduct. No person shall sit or lie down upon a public sidewalk or in the public right of way (including, but not limited to, curbs gutters, parkways, streets, and publicly owned parking lots) or upon a blanket, chair, stool, or any other object placed upon a public sidewalk or in the public right of way (including, but not limited to, curbs, gutters, parkways, streets, and publicly owned parking lots), anywhere in the City during the hours between 7:00 a.m. and 11:00 p.m., or at anytime within certain areas of the City established by City Council resolution.

(c) Exceptions. The prohibition in subsection (b) shall not apply to any person:

(1) Sitting or lying down on a public sidewalk due to a medical emergency;

(2) Who, as the result of a disability, utilizes a wheelchair, walker, or similar device to move about the public sidewalk;

(3) Operating or patronizing a commercial establishment conducted on the public sidewalk pursuant to a street use permit, or outdoor dining provided by a commercial establishment in conformance with the Ontario Development Code or applicable specific plan; or a person participating in or attending a parade, festival, performance, rally, demonstration, meeting, or similar event conducted on the public sidewalk pursuant to a street use or other applicable permit;

(4) Sitting on a chair or bench located on the public sidewalk which is supplied by a public agency or by the abutting private property owner;

(5) Sitting on a public sidewalk within a bus stop zone while waiting for public or private transportation.

Nothing in any of these exceptions shall be construed to permit any conduct which is prohibited by § 4-6.904, Pedestrian interference.

(d) Citations. No person shall be cited under this section unless the person engages in conduct prohibited by this section after having been notified by a law enforcement officer, or any city enforcement officer, that the conduct violates this section.

(§ 1, Ord. 2922, eff. June 3, 2010)

(a) Definitions. The following definitions apply in this section:

(1) “Obstruct pedestrian or vehicular traffic” means to walk, stand, sit, lie, or place an object in such a manner as to block passage by another person or a vehicle, or to require another person or a driver of a vehicle to take evasive action to avoid physical contact. Acts authorized as an exercise of one's constitutional right to picket or to legally protest, and acts authorized by a street use permit, shall not constitute “obstruction of pedestrian or vehicular traffic.”

(2) “Public place” means an area generally visible to public view and includes alleys, bridges, buildings, driveways, parking lots, parks, pedestrian malls, plazas, sidewalks and streets open to the general public, including those that serve food or drink or provide entertainment, and the doorways and entrances to buildings or dwellings and the grounds enclosing them.

(b) Prohibited conduct. A person is guilty of pedestrian interference if, in a public place, he or she intentionally obstructs pedestrian or vehicular traffic.

(c) Citations. No person shall be cited under this section unless the person engages in conduct prohibited by this section after having been notified by a law enforcement officer, or any city enforcement officer, that the conduct violates this section.

(§ 2, Ord. 2922, eff. June 3, 2010)