Watsonville, CA Public Conduct: Jaywalking (2026)

Watsonville Municipal Code § 4-5.902 is a single sentence: no pedestrian shall cross a roadway in any business district other than by a crosswalk. The section sits in Article 9, Pedestrians, of Chapter 5 in Title 4, and the rule is tied to business districts in the City of Watsonville rather than to every street.

Three neighboring sections fill in the rest. Section 4-5.903 says no pedestrian shall cross a roadway at any place other than by a route at right angles to the curb or by the shortest route to the opposite curb, except in a marked crosswalk. Section 4-5.904 says no person shall stand in any roadway, other than in a safety zone or in a crosswalk, if the action interferes with the lawful movement of traffic; public officers and public utility employees necessarily upon a street in the line of duty are exempt.

Section 4-5.901 controls where crosswalks exist. The City Engineer establishes, designates, and maintains crosswalks by devices, marks, or lines on the roadway surface, and crosswalks are maintained at all intersections where the City Engineer determines there is particular hazard to pedestrians crossing the roadway. Other than at intersections, no crosswalk goes in a block less than 400 feet in length, and elsewhere not more than one additional crosswalk is established in any one block, located as nearly as practicable at mid-block.

A separate obstruction rule applies on the Pajaro Bridge. Section 5-35.01(c) makes it unlawful to stop, block, or obstruct any sidewalk or roadway of the Pajaro Bridge to the intersection of, and including, Main Street and Front Street where that is likely to cause an obstruction, a hazard, or impeded traffic.