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Orlando city leaders weigh new rule against blocking sidewalks

City commission to conduct final vote on rule change during Monday meeting

Orlando sidewalk

ORLANDO, Fla. – A proposed ordinance in Orlando would change how people use sidewalks in the city.

The ordinance would change the city’s rules regarding disorderly conduct, adding in the following language:

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Any person who walks, stands, sits, lies, or places an object in such manner as to intentionally block passage by another person or to require another person to take evasive action to avoid physical contact, or who, after being ordered to move by law enforcement officers, remains in or on any public street or sidewalk in such a manner as to block or impair movement of vehicles or pedestrians;

Language in proposed Ordinance No. 2023-55

This would make blocking sidewalks within the city illegal, which could result in fines or jail time for violators.

The proposed ordinance states that pedestrians killed while walking along the roadway account for around 8% of traffic fatalities, so the new rule could help to prevent that.

A first reading of the proposal was passed unanimously at a city council meeting in December.

The Orlando City Commission will meet on Monday to have a final vote on the proposed rule change.

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