Chattanooga, TN Sidewalk & Pedestrian Rules: Obstruction Rules (2026)

' The Code sets no fixed number of minutes or hours for 'reasonable,' leaving that to the judgment of the officer or the city court. Article II is a cluster of related obstruction rules that fill in the gaps § 32-32 leaves open. Section 32-35 caps wood or lumber left on a sidewalk at one hour. Section 32-36 gives dumped earth, mortar or builders' rubbish a five-hour limit before it must be hauled off a paved street. Section 32-37 limits building material for active construction to the width of the lot frontage plus twelve and one-half feet on each side, capped at one-third of the street's width, and requires a clear passage for vehicles and, where sidewalk facilities are disrupted, an accessible detour route.

Section 32-39 requires red lights or flares on any nighttime street obstruction from twilight to daylight. Section 32-41 requires a Transportation Department permit to obstruct a gutter, even temporarily. Read together, these sections treat sidewalk and street obstruction as a graduated problem: a general ban in § 32-32, then more specific time limits, dimensional caps, lighting duties and permit requirements layered on top for particular kinds of obstructions.