Waterbury, CT Sidewalk & Pedestrian Rules: Obstruction Rules (2026)

40, titled Obstructions on Streets and Sidewalks, states that no person shall obstruct any street or sidewalk in any manner. The ordinance builds in a single, narrow carve-out: goods, wares and merchandise may be temporarily placed on the street or sidewalk while loading or unloading, covering the ordinary case of a delivery truck or a store owner moving stock in or out. Anything left longer than that temporary loading window, or placed for storage, display or any other purpose, falls outside the exception and is an obstruction.

Enforcement runs through the Superintendent of Streets, who under the section may remove any such obstruction at the expense of the owner, meaning the city can clear the street or sidewalk itself and bill the responsible party rather than waiting on a court process. 06, so a lawful license under those sections is a defense to an obstruction claim for the same use. 40 traces to 1967 Code section 19-6 and has not been separately amended since recodification, so the flat obstruction ban and the loading exception have applied in essentially this form for decades.