Sidewalk & Pedestrian Rules in Worcester, MA (2026)
3 verified sidewalk & pedestrian rules for Worcester, Massachusetts, sourced directly from the municipal code and official government pages.
Verified from official government sources
Sidewalk Repair
Worcester's Department of Public Works & Parks, not the abutting homeowner, builds and repairs sidewalks under Chapter Twelve, Section 2. The city council orders the work through the city manager, but the commissioner reports itemized costs to the city auditor, who assesses each abutting owner their proportionate share of the paving, curbing and guttering expense.
Worcester Sidewalk Repair and Assessment Rules
Some RestrictionsWorcester Revised Ordinances of 2008, Chapter Twelve, § 2(b)-(c)
(b) It shall be the duty of the commissioner to keep an exact account of all expenses and outlays required or incurred in performing the work authorized in each order and report the same in writing within thirty days of the completion of the same, with the names of the owners of the estates abutting thereon and chargeable with the whole or any part of such expense, to the auditor, who shall at ...
Obstruction Rules
Leaving unregistered personal property on a Worcester street or sidewalk is capped at six square feet under Chapter Twelve, Section 26(i), and a separate clause in Section 25 bars standing in or obstructing any street, sidewalk or crosswalk so as to block free passage; both draw a $25-per-day fine.
Worcester Sidewalk Obstruction Limits
Some RestrictionsWorcester Revised Ordinances of 2008, Chapter Twelve, § 26(i)
(i) No person shall cause, allow or maintain any personal property of any sort which is not registered as a motor vehicle under chapter ninety, section one, of the General Laws of Massachusetts (A) to occupy any area in excess of six square feet within the limits of any public way within the city or (B) to occupy any area within the limits of any public way in such a manner as to impair the hea...
Encroachment Permits
Before erecting a fence or building next to any Worcester street or public ground, you must apply to the commissioner of public works and parks to have the property bounds ascertained, one of several encroachment controls in Chapter Twelve, Section 21 that also bar fences, doorsteps, hoists, cellar doors and shrubs from extending into the public way.
Worcester Street Encroachment Rules
Significant RestrictionsWorcester Revised Ordinances of 2008, Chapter Twelve, § 21(f)
(f) No person shall erect or cause to be erected any fence or building adjoining any street or public ground in the city without having first ascertained the bounds of the same by application to the commissioner.