Sidewalk & Pedestrian Rules in Lexington, KY (2026)
3 verified sidewalk & pedestrian rules for Lexington, Kentucky, sourced directly from the municipal code and official government pages.
Verified from official government sources
Sidewalk Repair
Lexington-Fayette puts sidewalk repair on the shoulders of the property owner whose land abuts the defect: holes, uneven surfaces and other damage must be fixed at the owner's own expense under section 17-147. If the owner can't be found, the duty shifts to their agent, and failing that, to the occupant.
Lexington Abutting Owner Sidewalk Repair Duty
Some RestrictionsLexington-Fayette Urban County Code of Ordinances § 17-147
It shall be the duty of each owner of real estate abutting on any sidewalk to repair, at his own expense, all holes, uneven surfaces and other defects in the sidewalk upon which his property abuts; reconstruction shall comply with the standard drawings and technical manuals. If such owner be a nonresident of the urban county, or if he cannot be found, it shall be the duty of his agent in charge...
Obstruction Rules
Lexington-Fayette's Code of Ordinances flatly bars building structures, fences or walls in the public right-of-way and bans dumping vehicles, barrels, boxes, merchandise, cross-ties, concrete blocks, spikes, basketball goals or tree wells onto any street, alley or sidewalk. Section 17-21 makes both acts unlawful outright, with narrow carve-outs only for permitted construction staging and short loading stops, and violators face escalating daily fines under section 17-24.
Lexington Bans Sidewalk & ROW Obstructions
Significant RestrictionsLexington-Fayette Urban County Code of Ordinances § 17-21
It shall be unlawful for any person to erect or maintain any building or other structure on any portion of a public right-of-way or to enclose any portion of a public right-of-way with a fence or wall or in any manner whatsoever, except as provided in sections 17-22 and 17-23. It shall be unlawful for any person to obstruct any portion of the public right-of-way by placing or depositing thereon...
Encroachment Permits
Anyone staging construction materials on a Lexington-Fayette sidewalk or street must first get a right-of-way blockage permit under section 17-22: from the division of engineering for work between the pavement edge and the property line, or from the division of traffic engineering for work in the street itself. The blocked area can't exceed half the sidewalk unless a safe temporary walk is provided.
Lexington Construction Right-of-Way Blockage Permit
Some RestrictionsLexington-Fayette Urban County Code of Ordinances § 17-22
Any person engaged in constructing a building, sidewalk or other structure shall be permitted, upon obtaining a right-of-way blockage permit, to use that portion of the sidewalk or street as may be reasonably necessary for the deposit of materials to be used in such work; however, a sufficient portion of the sidewalk and street shall be unobstructed so as to permit the free passage of pedestria...