Fayetteville, NC Public Conduct: Jaywalking (2026)

Fayetteville Code of Ordinances Sec. 16-128, "Pedestrians to Observe Traffic Lights," is narrow and specific: on any street where traffic lights control the intersection, a pedestrian may cross only at the regular designated crossing, and only when the light has stopped the vehicles with red. Anything else, whether stepping off mid-block between signalized intersections or crossing against a green or walk-signal cycle, falls outside the section's own terms and is unlawful. The rule traces to the city's 1961 Code § 20-48 and has not been rewritten since.

It sits directly beside companion signal-obedience sections: Sec. 16-126 spells out what each light color legally means for vehicles, and Sec. 16-127 covers flashing red and yellow signals, so an officer citing a pedestrian references the same signal-legend framework that governs drivers. Enforcement runs through the city's general penalty machinery at Sec. 1-7: unless a section states its own penalty, a violation is a civil offense, first met with a warning citation describing the violation and section, escalating to a civil citation directing the violator to appear at city hall or pay by mail if the warning is ignored.

Each day a violation continues can be charged as a separate offense under that same section. Sec. 1-9 gives a person cited the right to appeal a civil penalty. Because Sec. 16-128 only regulates signal-controlled streets, unsignalized intersections and midblock locations fall back on the general right-of-way duties elsewhere in Chapter 16, not this section.