Birmingham, AL Public Conduct: Jaywalking (2026)

Birmingham Code of Ordinances Sec. 10-12-3 bars a pedestrian from crossing a roadway anywhere except by a route at right angles to the curb or by the shortest route to the opposite curb, unless the crossing is in a marked crosswalk. That is the local jaywalking rule most drivers and pedestrians mean when they ask about crossing mid-block: it does not ban mid-block crossing outright, but it does ban the diagonal, angled or wandering crossing pattern that lengthens a pedestrian's time in traffic lanes. Section 10-12-1 folds pedestrians into the same traffic-control-signal scheme as vehicles, so a pedestrian who steps off the curb against a signal is separately exposed.

Section 10-12-2 adds that pedestrians must move, whenever practicable, upon the right half of crosswalks, keeping opposing pedestrian flows apart the way lane markings separate opposing traffic. These sections descend from the 1964 and 1980 general codes (Sec. 34-152, 34-155, 34-156) and mirror Alabama's own pedestrian statutes, Code of Ala. 1975 Sec. 32-5A-210, 32-5A-212 and 32-5A-214, which is why Birmingham police can enforce the same conduct as either a city or a state charge. None of these sections carry a chapter-specific fine, so a citation is punished under the city's general penalty provision.