Signal Hill Municipal Code Ch. 9.65 Pedestrians Prohibited on Median Islands

A. The city council finds that pedestrians are stepping and standing upon city-owned median islands located in the center of streets, distracting drivers, placing themselves in harm's way, and trampling landscaping. Such median islands have been installed for safety reasons to separate opposing lanes of traffic and are often landscaped for aesthetic purposes to beautify city arterials. There is no intended pedestrian use of such medians. Pedestrians may cross a street at marked crosswalks and do not need to step, stand, sit, or lie on these median islands for any purpose.

B. The purpose of this chapter is to protect the public safety of drivers and pedestrians and preserve the aesthetics of the city's landscaped median islands. (Ord. 2023-11-1545 § 14 (part), 2023)

For purposes of this chapter, a median island is a raised and curbed area owned by the city, of variable width, which may or may not contain landscaping or hardscaping features, located in the approximate center of the street, parallel to the travel lanes, separating opposing lanes of motor vehicle traffic and channeling the location of the motor vehicle traffic. (Ord. 2023-11-1545 § 14 (part), 2023)

Pedestrians are prohibited from stepping, standing, sitting, or lying upon any median island as defined in Section 9.65.020. For purposes of this prohibition, pedestrians do not include city employees or contractors maintaining the median island, emergency personnel or other persons temporarily using the median island because of an accident or vehicular emergency, or persons actively using an existing city crosswalk which intersects a median island and who are otherwise required to step onto a median island for safety reasons. (Ord. 2023-11-1545 § 14 (part), 2023)