Pawtucket, RI Sidewalk & Pedestrian Rules: Obstruction Rules (2026)

Section 351-13 sits in Chapter 351, Article IV, "Sidewalk Obstructions," first approved in 1967 (Ch. No. 1135, codifying Secs. 28-14 and 28-15 of the 1966 Code) and amended twice since, in 1992 (Ch. No. 2278) and again on June 20, 2019 (Ch. No. 3198). The current text prohibits riding, driving, fastening, parking or leaving any horse or other animal, or any carriage, team or other vehicle, within the public right-of-way, defined to reach beyond the paved sidewalk to include a footwalk, doorstep, doorway or grassy strip on City property, whenever doing so obstructs, hinders, delays, disturbs or annoys passersby or nearby residents and businesses, or damages the grassy strip itself.

The section builds in one way around the ban: a person can file a permit application with the Director of Public Works, and if the Director finds the proposed obstruction will not unduly hinder the free flow of pedestrian and vehicular traffic, the permit issues and the obstruction becomes lawful. The Director of Public Works also has standing authority under the section to write regulations carrying out its intent, which is how the City handles case-by-case requests like temporary equipment staging or a vehicle parked against a curb for loading.

Because the section folds in its own permit valve, most obstruction disputes in Pawtucket turn on whether a permit was ever sought, not on whether the underlying activity is banned outright.