Prince George's County, MD Sidewalk & Pedestrian Rules: Obstruction Rules (2026)

Section 23-602 of the County Code lists what may never sit in a Prince George's County right-of-way, sidewalks included. Signs or objects "which obstruct any pedestrian path intended to provide ingress or egress for any building or structure, access to a crosswalk, or on the sidewalk or any other paved portion of the right-of-way" are banned outright, alongside anything not expressly permitted elsewhere in Division 6, pennants and carnival-style attractors, items that block the view of a traffic control device, items that could be mistaken for a traffic signal, unclean or damaged signs, signs illegal under state or federal law, anything that obstructs traffic, and anything a private party places without public authorization.

Section 23-602(b) treats any sign left in the right-of-way in violation of the Division as "abandoned and illegal at the time the sign is placed," which lets the Department of Public Works and Transportation remove it under Section 23-608 without prior notice. Section 23-608(b) separately bars attaching any sign or object to a traffic control device, roadside tree, or utility pole within the right-of-way. Because the presumption of ownership runs to whoever's business name, address, phone number, or trademark appears on the sign, a merchant who staples a sandwich board to a utility pole outside a College Park or Hyattsville storefront is presumed responsible even without direct proof of who put it there.