Elyria, OH Public Conduct: Jaywalking (2026)

Section 371.03 of the Elyria Codified Ordinances, part of the Traffic Code enacted by the Elyria City Council in Lorain County, Ohio, never uses the word jaywalking, but it covers the conduct through several separate rules. Division (a) puts the burden on the pedestrian: anyone crossing at any point other than within a marked crosswalk or within an unmarked crosswalk at an intersection yields the right-of-way to all vehicles upon the roadway. Division (b) applies the same yield duty where a pedestrian tunnel or overhead pedestrian crossing has been provided.

Division (c) is the closest thing to a flat ban: between adjacent intersections at which traffic-control signals are in operation, pedestrians do not cross at any place except in a marked crosswalk. Division (d) bars crossing a roadway intersection diagonally unless official traffic-control devices authorize it, and when they do, pedestrians cross only as those devices direct. Division (e) keeps drivers responsible too: the section does not relieve the operator of a vehicle from exercising due care to avoid colliding with any pedestrian upon any roadway.

Three later divisions add Elyria-specific roadway rules. Division (g) says no person shall walk on the paved portion of any controlled-access highway, and division (i) says no person shall walk within the right-of-way of the John F. Kennedy Memorial Parkway except in emergency situations and at intersections and pedestrian crossings. Division (h) prohibits entering upon, walking in, or crossing any roadway in a manner that endangers life and limb or causes injury to another person or property. A neighboring rule, § 371.05(a), makes it unlawful for a pedestrian to walk along and upon an adjacent roadway where a sidewalk is provided and its use is practicable.