Ankeny, IA Public Conduct: Jaywalking (2026)

Ankeny Code of Ordinances § 67.03 states that every pedestrian crossing a roadway at any point other than within a marked crosswalk, or within an unmarked crosswalk at an intersection, must yield the right-of-way to all vehicles on the roadway. This is Ankeny's version of a jaywalking rule: it does not ban mid-block crossing outright, but it places the legal duty to yield on the pedestrian rather than the driver whenever the crossing happens outside a marked or intersection crosswalk. The section sits in Chapter 67, Pedestrians, alongside § 67.01, which requires pedestrians walking, jogging or otherwise moving along a street to keep to the left side of the street, and § 67.04, which makes it unlawful to walk or jog along an adjacent street wherever a sidewalk has been provided.

Together these three sections push foot traffic toward sidewalks and marked crossings and off the traveled roadway. Chapters 60 through 70 make up the Ankeny Traffic Code, and § 1.14's standard penalty applies the same punishment as a simple misdemeanor to violations of the Code of Ordinances generally, including this Traffic Code chapter. The Ankeny Police Department enforces the Traffic Code under § 60.03, and a peace officer who has reasonable cause to believe a pedestrian crossing violation occurred may issue a citation under § 70.01 rather than making an immediate arrest.

Because the yield duty in § 67.03 mirrors Iowa's rules of the road, officers can also cite the underlying state statute for the same conduct, but the City's own printed text is what governs enforcement inside Ankeny's limits.