Harford County, MD Sidewalk & Pedestrian Rules: Obstruction Rules (2026)

' A 'public place' includes any place the general public has access to for business, entertainment or other lawful purpose, plus the front or immediate area of a store, shop, restaurant or tavern and public grounds, areas or parks. Subsection B prohibits loitering, loafing, wandering, standing or remaining idle, alone or with others, in a public place in a manner that obstructs any public street, public highway, public sidewalk or other public place or building by hindering or impeding the free and uninterrupted passage of vehicles, traffic or pedestrians, or that commits any act which is an obstruction or interference with the free and uninterrupted use of property or of any business lawfully conducted on or facing that street, sidewalk or building.

Enforcement runs through the order-to-disperse mechanism in Subsection C: when a police officer or other law enforcement officer observes the obstructing conduct, the officer must first order the person to stop and to move on or disperse. Only a person who fails or refuses to obey that order is guilty of a misdemeanor. Subsection D preserves the right to orderly and legal picketing or other lawful assembly, so an obstruction charge cannot be built on peaceful picketing alone. The section is general legislation, so it applies countywide in unincorporated Harford County; Bel Air, Aberdeen and Havre de Grace enforce their own municipal codes within their limits.