Reading, PA Sidewalk & Pedestrian Rules: Obstruction Rules (2026)

Chapter 536, Tampering with Public Property, was adopted by City Council in 1953 (Ord. No. 27-1953) and covers four separate offenses beyond obstruction: scattering rubbish on a sidewalk, alley, street, bridge or public property (§536-101); defacing signs, survey markers, parking meters or traffic signals (§536-102); and driving past a sign or barrier that prohibits, controls or weight-limits vehicle passage (§536-103). The obstruction rule at §536-104 is written broadly: it bars placing or erecting 'any obstruction of any type' on a sidewalk, alley, street, bridge or public passageway, with a single carve-out for temporary barriers or warning signs erected to protect the public, such as construction fencing around a hazard.

Because the section does not itemize what counts as an obstruction, the prohibition reaches everything from stored materials to un-permitted signage or furniture left in the public right-of-way, unless it falls within that safety-barrier exception. §3304, for related protection of public property. Penalties are set out in §536-105, added with the original 1953 ordinance and amended in 2001 (Ord. No. 14-2001): a conviction carries a fine of not more than $1,000 plus costs, and if the fine and costs go unpaid, imprisonment for up to 30 days.

The chapter treats a continuing obstruction as a fresh offense every day it remains in place, so a sidewalk blockage left unresolved compounds the potential fine day by day rather than being charged once.