Arvada, CO Public Conduct: Jaywalking (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing section
- City Code § 62-36
- Adopted by
- Ordinance No. 4679, March 18, 2019
- Crosswalk exception
- Applies only while lawfully crossing
- Related median rule
- § 62-36.5, roadways posted over 30 mph
- Penalty basis
- Fine or jail under § 1-5
Summary
Arvada makes it unlawful for a pedestrian to willfully and unnecessarily hinder, obstruct, or delay vehicle traffic on a roadway, the city's stand-in for a jaywalking law. Arvada City Code § 62-36 exempts anyone lawfully crossing within a crosswalk, but stepping into traffic outside one to block or slow cars is punishable.
It shall be unlawful for any person to willfully and unnecessarily hinder, obstruct, or delay traffic, or to willfully and unnecessarily attempt to hinder, obstruct, or delay any other person who is lawfully driving or traveling along or upon any roadway so as to interfere with the effective movement of traffic. Exception: This section shall not apply to any person within a crosswalk who lawfully entered the crosswalk and is crossing from one side of the traveled portion of the roadway for that period of time reasonably necessary to cross over the roadway.
(d)Penalty. Any violation of this section shall be punished by a fine or imprisonment not to exceed the limits established in section 1-5 of this Code. (Ord. No. 4679, § 1, 3-18-2019)
Sec. 62-36.5. - Pedestrian use of roadway center medians.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: City Council Policy Manual: Supplement 1 | Code of Ordinances: Supplement 67).
Full Breakdown
Adopted by Ordinance No. 5, adopted the same year, bars pedestrians from accessing, occupying, or congregating on a posted "center median not designed or suitable for pedestrian use" along any roadway posted above 30 miles per hour, again with a crosswalk-refuge exception for one signal cycle. Together the sections give Arvada police a tool against mid-block crossings and unauthorized median use that create traffic hazards: a pedestrian who steps into traffic outside a marked crosswalk, or lingers on a posted high-speed median, is in violation. "
Violations & Fines
Willfully hindering, obstructing, or delaying traffic outside a crosswalk violates § 62-36(c) and is punishable by a fine or jail time up to the general limits in § 1-5. Occupying a posted center median on a roadway signed above 30 mph is a separate, strict-liability violation of § 62-36.5, meaning police need not prove intent, only that the median was posted.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is jaywalking illegal in Arvada?
Can I stand on a median strip while crossing a busy Arvada street?
What is the penalty for obstructing traffic as a pedestrian in Arvada?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Arvada
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Jaywalking in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Jefferson County handle jaywalking.