Loudoun County, VA Sidewalk & Pedestrian Rules: Obstruction Rules (2026)

05, 'Obstructing Passage of Others,' bars unreasonably or unnecessarily obstructing the free passage of other persons in any public place, which covers county sidewalks, roads and rights-of-way, or on private property that is open to the public, such as a shopping center or store entrance. The ordinance has a compliance-and-refusal structure rather than a flat ban on standing still: subsection (a) also makes it a separate violation to fail or refuse to cease the obstruction, or to refuse to move on, once told to do so by the property owner or lessee, the owner's agent or employee, or a law enforcement officer.

That means a person blocking a sidewalk isn't automatically in violation until they ignore a request to clear the way. Subsection (b) carves out an explicit protection: nothing in the section may be construed to prohibit lawful picketing, so a picket line that doesn't refuse to yield passage when asked is not obstruction under this rule. 99, which applies whenever a specific chapter doesn't set its own fine. This section governs public places and business-open private property across the unincorporated county; Leesburg, Purcellville, Hamilton, Middleburg, Round Hill, Hillsboro and Lovettsville enforce sidewalk and right-of-way rules under their own separate town codes.