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

Section 62-49 of the Kingsport Code of Ordinances, titled Obstructing highway or other passageway, is the city's core obstruction rule for sidewalks and streets. Subsection (a) defines obstruct as to render impassable or to render passage unreasonably inconvenient or potentially injurious to persons or property. Subsection (b)(1) says a person commits an offense if the person, without legal privilege, intentionally, knowingly or recklessly sits on a window ledge or obstructs a highway, street, sidewalk, railway, waterway, elevator, aisle or hallway to which the public or a substantial portion of the public has access, or any other place used for the passage of persons, vehicles or conveyances. It does not matter whether the obstruction arises from the person's acts alone or from the person's acts and the acts of others.

Subsection (b)(2) adds an order-to-move offense. A person also commits it by disobeying a reasonable request or order to move, issued by a person known to be a law enforcement officer, a firefighter or a person with authority to control the use of the premises, to prevent obstruction of a highway or passageway, or to maintain public safety by dispersing those gathered in dangerous proximity to a fire, riot or other hazard. Subsection (c) protects lawful assembly of one or more persons for the purpose of lawful demonstration or redress of grievances.

Other Kingsport sections fill in the sidewalk picture. Section 62-50(e) exempts merchandise being received or delivered from the right-of-way ban unless it stays longer than two hours, and exempts material deposited for less than two hours unless it is deposited with the intent to interfere with free passage. Section 62-125 defines a nuisance to include unlawfully interfering with, obstructing, or rendering dangerous for passage any public or private street, highway, sidewalk, stream or drainage. For sidewalk cafes in the downtown business area, Section 90-127 requires a minimum of six feet of sidewalk width, or the minimum required by the Americans with Disabilities Act, whichever is wider, to stay clear at all times for pedestrian traffic, and lets the director of public works require a wider path in areas of congested pedestrian activity. Section 90-128 bars blocking any building entrance or exit, any doorway, driveway, crosswalk, or bus stop.