Bergenfield, NJ Sidewalk & Pedestrian Rules: Obstruction Rules (2026)

Section 270-2 of the Borough Code makes it unlawful for any person, firm, partnership or corporation to obstruct or permit the obstruction of any portion of a street, road, highway or sidewalk in Bergenfield, and separately bars erecting a structure, fence or wall within a Borough right-of-way without the express written permission of the Mayor and Council or its authorized agent. The section defines obstruction concretely: a sidewalk is obstructed if any item is placed so it prevents the entire width, or a ten-foot-wide walkway if that is less, from being used for unimpeded pedestrian passage.

The same threshold applies to a street, avenue or roadway, where anything interfering with unimpeded vehicle use counts as an obstruction. The section is careful to say it does not by itself authorize outdoor merchandise displays or other activity that is only permitted elsewhere in the Code, and it separately requires written Mayor and Council permission before any structure or fixture is built on a sidewalk at all, regardless of whether it blocks the required walking width. A companion provision, § 273-6, reaches the same ground from the general Streets and Sidewalks chapter, barring anyone from placing an object that encumbers a sidewalk or renders travel on it dangerous and unsafe, and it specifically bans leaving a stationary or portable basketball hoop between the curb and sidewalk overnight, on snow-covered roads, or on refuse or leaf collection days.