Kirkwood, MO Sidewalk & Pedestrian Rules: Obstruction Rules (2026)

Kirkwood Code of Ordinances § 20-92, Display of merchandise; construction materials, prohibits placing, exposing or offering any merchandise or property for show or sale by auction or otherwise on a street, alley or sidewalk. It further bars placing any sign, box, barrel, goods, wares, lumber, building materials or any other article on a street, alley or sidewalk so as to obstruct or encumber the public way, unless a special provision of an excavation or building permit specifically authorizes it, or the placement complies with the section's requirements for guarding working areas.

The section does carve out one exception: merchants may use the sidewalk when receiving or shipping goods, provided the street, alley or sidewalk is obstructed as little as possible and for as short a time as possible. Section 20-92 dates to Gen. Ords. 04 and Ord. No. 5197 (1968) and sits in Chapter 20, Article III, Encroachments, alongside § 20-89's general bar on stationary encroachments and § 20-90's awning-permit process, so a sidewalk merchandise display and a permanent awning are policed by different sections of the same article.

Because Article III sets no dedicated fine, a violation of § 20-92 is enforced under the City's general penalty at § 1-14, with each day the obstruction remains treated as a separate offense.