DALLAS — A new Dallas law banning people from road medians or risk a fine up to $500 opens the city up to a lawsuit that could cost taxpayers, legal experts say.
The restriction bans pedestrians from standing or walking on roadway medians less than 6 feet wide, in the middle of streets without medians and in clear zones like bike lanes and road shoulders. It exempts permitted workers, as well as pedestrians directly crossing the street, giving or receiving emergency aid, or on the median while following police instructions.
City officials since at least last year have publicly presented the restriction as a way to address complaints stemming from people panhandling while on the dividing strip or in the middle of streets where there is no median. It was rebranded in the months leading up to the City Council’s Oct. 26 approval as being driven by pedestrian traffic safety concerns.
