Indianapolis, IN Sidewalk & Pedestrian Rules: Obstruction Rules (2026)

Sec. 645-513 makes it unlawful for any person, without a permit, to obstruct or use for himself or anyone else any street, alley, boulevard, sidewalk, crosswalk or public place in the city beyond what is temporarily and reasonably necessary for the proper use of the abutting premises. The section lists specific violations: piling or displaying goods, wares or merchandise other than temporarily along a street or public place fronting a business; occupying more than 4 feet of the outer edge of a sidewalk 15 feet or wider (or more than one-fourth the width of a narrower sidewalk) with goods being received or delivered; letting merchandise sit on either edge of a sidewalk longer than needed, which must come off within six hours once a police officer or other city official gives notice; leaving boxes, barrels or crates in an alley or street roadway next to a business after notice; stopping or standing a vehicle across a driveway or footwalk longer than needed to move it; and any other unpermitted obstruction not otherwise addressed in the Code.

The companion section, Sec. 645-512, establishes the underlying policy that streets, alleys, sidewalks, bridges and public places must stay open for travel and public use, with private use allowed only as the Code authorizes it and never in a way that hinders public travel or offends orderly appearance. Both sections apply citywide, not only inside the excluded cities of Beech Grove, Lawrence, Southport or Speedway, since the obstruction rule is a Consolidated City street-and-sidewalk regulation administered by city officials and police.