Westfield, IN Public Conduct: Aggressive Panhandling (2026)

Sec. 58-167(a) makes it unlawful for a pedestrian simply to sit, stand or move within a public road right-of-way or a median between roadways for the purpose of soliciting, peddling, selling, advertising, donating or distributing anything, including tickets, handbills, newspapers or printed material, to or from an occupant of a vehicle in the roadway, or for the purpose of conversation with a vehicle's occupant. Subsection (b) then targets the conduct itself rather than mere presence: it is unlawful for anyone to solicit, peddle, sell, advertise, donate or distribute anything to a vehicle occupant, or to converse with one, within or upon a roadway or right-of-way, in a manner that endangers the safety of the occupant or a nearby pedestrian, impedes the free flow of vehicular traffic, or obstructs or distracts the driver's view.

Together the two subsections cover both static roadside panhandling toward stopped traffic and any solicitation, however brief, that creates a traffic hazard. The section's own penalty clause, Sec. 58-167(c), ties enforcement directly to Sec. 58-77(2) of the same chapter, meaning the fine schedule is not left to a separate general provision but is expressly cross-referenced within the roadway solicitation section itself. Westfield Police officers issue citations for violations observed at intersections, medians and along roadway shoulders where panhandling toward stopped or slow-moving traffic is common.