Queen Creek, AZ Public Conduct: Jaywalking (2026)

Town Code § 9-10-2, Pedestrians in Roadway or Median, part of the Traffic article, makes it unlawful for a pedestrian to stop or remain in the portion of a roadway designed for vehicular use, or in a painted or raised traffic island or median not specifically designated for pedestrian use. The rule is not an absolute ban on ever entering the roadway: it excuses a pedestrian waiting to cross at the next pedestrian signal, and where there is no pedestrian signal, it excuses standing there only until traffic has cleared or yielded, at which point the pedestrian must proceed rather than linger. The section carves out three further exceptions: workers conducting maintenance, surveying, construction or landscape work in a median or roadway with Public Works Director approval and required safety gear; emergency personnel responding to an accident, hazard or emergency; and, expressly, the lawful exercise of rights protected by the United States or Arizona Constitutions, such as roadside demonstrations conducted within their legal bounds.

Section 9-10-21, the Traffic article's general penalty provision, states that except as otherwise provided in the Town Code or State Statute, a violation of any provision of the article is a Civil Offense, and that penalties for certain specific violations are set out separately in Article 11-21 of the Town Code. Section 9-10-2 was adopted with Ordinance 764-21 on September 15, 2021, and the article's definitions section, § 9-10-1, borrows terms from Chapters 11 and 14 of the Town Code rather than defining them separately.