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

Jackson Municipal Code § 16-201 bars anyone from obstructing or blocking a city alley, sidewalk, walkway, street, parkway or other public property, or from permitting it to be obstructed, by placing merchandise, refuse, fixtures, crates, packing or any other object or substance there. The section carves out only one narrow exception: a person unloading a truck or van may obstruct the area for the time absolutely necessary and reasonable for that unloading, and every obstruction must then be removed from the public property right away.

Section 16-202 addresses a category the general rule does not fully cover, building materials. It is unlawful to place or pile lumber, brick, stone, plaster, cement or other building material in a street or on a sidewalk without a permit from the building inspector, and that permit may issue only in connection with construction, remodeling or repair when the building site itself cannot reasonably store the materials and no other storage site is available. Even with a permit, the material cannot block the sidewalk, gutter or waterway, must sit behind a protective temporary wall with a red warning light at night, cannot occupy more than one-quarter of the street right-of-way measured from the sidewalk's outer edge, and cannot remain in the street more than twenty days unless the permit is extended.