Pawtucket, RI Public Conduct: Jaywalking (2026)

Article XI of Chapter 351 sets Pawtucket's pedestrian traffic rules. Section 351-58 requires a pedestrian to cross a roadway, street or highway "other than in a crosswalk" only outside a business district, meaning inside a business district a marked crosswalk is mandatory. Section 351-59 bars crossing an intersection diagonally unless an official traffic control device authorizes it, and even then only along the path the device marks. Section 351-60 splits on whether a sidewalk exists: where one is provided, walking in the adjacent roadway is unlawful outright; where none exists, a pedestrian must walk facing oncoming traffic, on the roadway's left side or shoulder, whenever practicable.

Section 351-61 goes further and bars a pedestrian from walking in the traveled roadway or the area next to it, or on any part of a freeway, expressway or limited-access highway, regardless of whether a sidewalk exists there. Section 351-62, amended in 2021 (Ch. No. 3246), separately bars standing or lingering in a roadway to solicit a ride from a passing vehicle. Section 351-64 carves out one exemption: hawkers of daily newspapers and current periodicals are not bound by the article. Section 351-63 puts a parallel duty on drivers to exercise due care around pedestrians and to sound a horn when needed, particularly around a child or a confused or incapacitated person in the roadway.