Las Cruces, NM Sidewalk & Pedestrian Rules: Obstruction Rules (2026)

Sec. 26-7 puts the duty directly on occupants: it is the duty of all occupants of premises within the city, under penalty of law, to keep the sidewalk in front of such premises free and clear of all obstructions at all times. The only carve-out is for loading or unloading goods, during which an occupant may temporarily occupy the portion of sidewalk necessary, as long as a passageway stays open the whole time. This sits alongside the broader Sec. 26-3 ban on erecting, constructing, maintaining, placing, or leaving any structure, fence, post, or other object on any public way, and Sec.

26-4, which puts a parallel duty on property owners to trim trees to an eight-foot clearance above the sidewalk and keep shrubbery from encroaching over it. Awnings and canopies over a sidewalk must clear eight feet from the surface under Sec. 26-5. Vendors face a separate rule: Sec. 26-6 makes it unlawful to keep a sales stand on a public way or draw a crowd that interferes with traffic, though the city manager can approve a stand on written application, with a right to appeal a denial to the city council.

"Public ways" is defined in Sec. 26-1 to include the highways, thoroughfares, avenues, boulevards, streets, bridges, alleys, and sidewalks of the city, so the obstruction duty runs across all of those, not just the sidewalk slab itself.