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Chico council introduces ordinance to bar standing in medians and roundabouts after safety briefing; First Amendment and equity concerns voiced
Summary
Police presented an ordinance to prohibit standing, stopping or remaining in medians, roundabouts and pedestrian refuges; council voted to introduce the measure for further consideration amid debate about free-speech impacts and possible narrowing by median width.
The Chico City Council introduced an ordinance aimed at reducing pedestrian exposure in medians, roundabouts and pedestrian refuges after a presentation from Police Chief Billy Aldridge.
Chief Aldridge said his review of 30 months of dispatch data identified 95 vehicle-versus-pedestrian collisions that produced 71 injuries and three fatalities. He told the council that people lingering in medians and pedestrian refuges increase exposure risk and driver distraction, and said the proposed chapter 10.36 to Title 10 of the Chico Municipal Code would prohibit standing, stopping or remaining in those locations to improve safety.
Several council members and members of the public raised constitutional and equity concerns. Freddie Wright, a resident who bikes and walks in Chico, called the proposal “an anti-loitering ordinance” and warned it could be used to profile or intimidate vulnerable pedestrians; he urged investments in safer crossings instead. Council members asked whether existing vehicle code provisions already prohibit blocking roadways and whether targeted narrower restrictions (for very narrow medians) would be a better approach to reduce unintended impacts on houseless residents and lawful demonstrators.
City Attorney John Lamb and staff said the proposed ordinance is crafted as a content-neutral time, place and manner restriction (not targeted at protected speech) and that the staff draft includes exemptions for crossing movements, emergencies, medical necessity, and assisting others. Several councilmembers suggested limiting the scope by median width or clarifying exemptions; a substitute proposal to restrict enforcement to medians four feet wide or narrower failed on the recorded test vote.
After public comment and discussion, the council voted to introduce the ordinance for further consideration. Roll-call votes recorded a 4–3 split in favor of introducing the ordinance (Yes: O'Brien, Van Overbeck, Bennett, Mayor Reynolds; No: Goldstein, Holly, Winslow). The ordinance will return to council with anticipated language refinements and any clarifying exemptions.
