Augusta-Richmond County, GA Public Conduct: Jaywalking (2026)

Section 3-5-51 sits in the traffic chapter's pedestrian article and sets the county's core jaywalking standard: absent a crosswalk or other traffic-control device directing pedestrians differently, a person on foot has to cross at right angles to the curb, taking the shortest practical route to the other side rather than cutting diagonally across a block. The Code defines 'crosswalk' broadly in Section 3-5-1(8) to include both the marked lines at an intersection and any portion of a roadway distinctly indicated for pedestrian crossing, so the duty to cross directly applies whenever no such marked or implied crossing point is available.

The rule works alongside companion pedestrian-article sections: drivers must still yield to a pedestrian already on a sidewalk regardless of where the vehicle is emerging from (Section 3-5-56), and drivers must exercise due care around children and obviously impaired pedestrians (Section 3-5-53). Section 3-5-51 does not carry its own fine schedule, so enforcement falls to the traffic chapter's general penalty provision, Section 3-5-141, which applies to any unlisted violation of the motor vehicle and traffic chapter. Richmond County Sheriff's deputies handle traffic enforcement citywide under the chapter's general authority to direct and control traffic.