Travis County, TX Sidewalk & Pedestrian Rules: Obstruction Rules (2026)

Sec. 210 defines "object" broadly: anything affixed to or installed in the right-of-way, including mailboxes, signs, utility poles, guy wires, fire hydrants, retaining walls, stockpiles of materials, dumpsters, landscaping, trees and bushes. Functional sidewalks, driveways and traffic control devices built to Travis County Code standards are not objects under this section. The baseline rule: no object may be placed or constructed in a county road's right-of-way unless the responsible person, presumed to be the abutting fee owner, demonstrates it will not make the roadway impassable, hazardous or otherwise inconvenient to the public.

210; cutting sight distance below AASHTO's minimum stopping sight distance guidelines; rendering a pedestrian way non-compliant with ADA Title II or Chapter 469 of the Government Code; blocking, redirecting or interfering with drainage maintenance; or blocking reasonable utility access. 5 and FHWA standards: wood supports no larger than 4-by-4 inches (or 4 inches round), metal supports no stronger than 2-inch standard steel pipe, embedded no more than 24 inches unless crash-tested, with mailbox-to-post attachments designed to separate on impact. The County Executive can grant exceptions elsewhere in the clear zone if guardrails or barriers adequately shield the object.

Objects that predate the rule are grandfathered but lose that status the moment they're structurally altered, damaged and rebuilt, or found to render the roadway impassable or hazardous, at which point the county can order removal at the responsible party's expense after posting on-site notice or certified mail and recording the notice in the county's Official Public Records.