Waco, TX Sidewalk & Pedestrian Rules: Obstruction Rules (2026)

Section 22-2 of Chapter 22, Streets, Sidewalks and Certain Other Public Places, states the general obstruction rule in one sentence: except as otherwise provided in the Code, it is unlawful for any person to store, sell or offer for sale personal property of any kind or character from or upon any street, sidewalk, alley, park or other public property in the city. That single section covers everything from a vendor's table blocking foot traffic to a homeowner staging yard-sale goods on the public right-of-way; it dates to the 1967 Code and was last amended in 2018.

Construction-related obstructions get their own, more detailed rule in Section 22-33: a person building, demolishing or repairing a house, store, other building, or even sidewalks and gutters, cannot lay or place brick, rock, boards, iron, timber or other work material in a street, alley or right-of-way without first getting approval from the director of public works, who may condition that approval on barricades, lighting or other protective devices. Related provisions round out the chapter's obstruction scheme: Section 22-1 requires city engineer approval before anyone alters, widens, grades, paves, or otherwise improves a street or public commons, and Section 22-5 separately bars driving or riding over a barricaded, under-construction street or sidewalk.

Downtown sidewalk signs are a narrow, permitted exception under the zoning code's sidewalk-sign rule, which allows a single transportable sign per building during business hours if it does not create a sight obstruction, but that exception does not reach general merchandise display or storage covered by Section 22-2.