Bessemer, AL Curfew Laws: Park Curfew (2026)
Key Facts
- Closing time
- One half hour after sunset
- Reopening time
- One half hour before sunrise
- Enforced by
- Police, parks director, authorized park attendants
- Exception
- Officially scheduled parks and recreation activities
- Effective condition
- Only once closing signs are posted at that park
- Default penalty
- Up to $500 fine or six months (Sec. 1-8)
Summary
Bessemer's public parks close one half hour after sunset and reopen one half hour before sunrise under Code of Ordinances section 82-22(a). Anyone found on park grounds during the closed hours, absent an officially scheduled activity, is committing an offense enforceable by police officers, the parks and recreation director, or authorized park attendants.
(a)Hours. Except for unusual and unforeseen emergencies, parks shall be open to the public every day of the year during designated hours. Except as otherwise provided, all parks in the city shall be open during the period from one-half hour before sunrise and one-half hour after sunset, unless such person is at the time a participant or spectator of an activity officially scheduled by the parks and recreation department.(1)Except as otherwise provided or permitted, it shall be unlawful for any person to be upon the grounds of any public park under the supervision of the director of parks and recreation during the period from one-half hour after sunset to one-half hour before sunrise.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Republication).
Full Breakdown
Section 82-22 of the parks and recreation chapter sets operating hours for every park owned or used by the City of Bessemer, including property the city has not formally dedicated as a park but uses for recreation. Except for unusual and unforeseen emergencies, parks stay open every day of the year during their designated hours, but subsection (a) fixes the default window at one half hour before sunrise to one half hour after sunset. Outside that window it is unlawful to be on the grounds of any park supervised by the director of parks and recreation, unless the person is a participant or spectator at an activity the parks and recreation department has officially scheduled.
The section only takes effect at an individual park once the city posts signs there stating the closing rule, and each park's actual opening and closing hours are posted on-site; using a park contrary to its posted hours is a separate violation under subsection (a)(3). Enforcement runs through section 82-21: any police officer, the director of parks and recreation, or a duly authorized park attendant can order a person violating the closure to leave, though only police officers can make an arrest. Failing to promptly leave after being told to do so is a separate offense. 00, imprisonment or hard-labor confinement of up to six months, or both, with each day a violation continues counted as a separate offense.
Violations & Fines
Being on park grounds during closed hours, or refusing to leave when directed by police, the parks director, or a park attendant, violates sections 82-21 and 82-22(a). Because the parks chapter sets no special fine, the general penalty in section 1-8 applies: up to $500.00 in fines, up to six months imprisonment or hard labor, or both, with continuing violations charged per day.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Sources & Official References
Other rules in Bessemer
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Park Curfew in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Jefferson County handle park curfew.