Somerville, MA Public Conduct: Jaywalking (2026)

Article XII of the Traffic Commission Regulations, adopted by the Traffic Commission under Article VII, Division 2, Section 8 of the City Charter, governs where and how pedestrians may cross Somerville streets. Section 12-1 sets the core rule: whenever a police officer directing traffic, a traffic control signal, or a marked crosswalk sits within 300 feet of a pedestrian, that pedestrian may not cross the way or roadway outside the limits of the marked crosswalk. A marked crosswalk is defined in the same article as the roadway area between two solid white pavement markings at least six feet apart.

Section 12-4(c) reinforces the point on sidewalk-lined streets: where a sidewalk exists, a pedestrian may not walk along the adjacent roadway while that sidewalk is open to use, and Section 12-4(d) requires anyone walking on a roadway without a sidewalk to keep to the left shoulder, facing oncoming traffic. Section 12-5 flips the right-of-way once a pedestrian is legally in a marked crosswalk at a non-signalized location: drivers must yield, slowing or stopping if needed, to a pedestrian on their half of the roadway or approaching within five feet of it.

Outside a marked crosswalk, that protection disappears, and every pedestrian crossing at any other point must yield to all vehicles on the roadway. Section 12-6 layers on the state due-care standard from Chapter 90, Sections 14 and 14A, requiring drivers to sound a horn and take precautions regardless of who has the right of way. Section 12-9 exempts roadway construction workers, municipal and utility crews on duty, officers performing public duties, and pedestrians acting in a genuine emergency. Section 12-8 assigns enforcement to all officers of the City of Somerville, not a single dedicated unit.