Bossier City, LA Sidewalk & Pedestrian Rules: Obstruction Rules (2026)

Sec. 38-272(a) bars willfully obstructing the free, convenient and normal use of any public sidewalk, street, highway, bridge, alley, road or other passageway, or the entrance, corridor or passage of any public building, structure, watercraft or ferry, by impeding, hindering, stifling, retarding or restraining traffic or passage. Sec. 38-272(b) carves out an exception for barricades or other obstructions erected as a genuine safety measure during construction, excavation, maintenance, repair or replacement work in or next to a public passageway, and for barricades placed by government officers performing their duties. Because the section carries no penalty of its own, a violation falls under the Code's general penalty in Sec. 1-9: a fine of up to $500.00 or up to 60 days imprisonment, or both, with each day the obstruction continues counted as a separate offense.

Related, narrower rules add specific numeric limits elsewhere in the Code. Sec. 98-1 separately bans depositing dirt, brick or other matter that obstructs the free flow of water in street gutters. In the Festival Plaza Region downtown, Sec. 22-4(8) bars street performers from placing any object on a sidewalk that leaves less than a four-foot contiguous width clear for pedestrians, enforced through Sec. 22-10's own fine schedule of $100.00 to $250.00 per violation, rising to $500.00 or up to 60 days in jail on a third conviction.