Stopping for a Selfie on a Strip Pedestrian Bridge Is a Crime

On January 3, 2024, the Clark County Commission voted unanimously to create Chapter 16.13 of the county code: 'Pedestrian Flow Zones.' Effective January 16, 2024, CCC 16.13.030 makes it unlawful to stop or stand within any Pedestrian Flow Zone, or to engage in any activity within a zone with the intent of causing another person to stop or stand. The zones cover the pedestrian bridges over Las Vegas Boulevard plus 20 feet around their connected stairs, escalators, and elevators. The stated purpose is crowd safety on bridges that funnel enormous foot traffic; the practical effect is that pausing mid-bridge for a skyline selfie is a misdemeanor. The only carve-out: briefly waiting for an elevator, escalator, or stairway. An earlier 2022 ordinance, CCC 16.11, had targeted obstructive uses of the bridges; the 2024 version went further.

The ordinance is under active constitutional challenge. On February 16, 2024, the ACLU of Nevada sued in federal court — McAllister v. Clark County, in the District of Nevada — on behalf of plaintiffs including a wheelchair user and a Strip violinist. The suit alleges the ordinance is unconstitutionally vague and violates the First and Fourteenth Amendments and the Americans with Disabilities Act. Street performers, who work the bridges, were among the first to object publicly. As of the latest reporting, the case remains pending, and the ordinance remains enforceable while it is litigated.

One related update tourists get wrong in the other direction: jaywalking. Crossing Las Vegas Boulevard mid-block is no longer a crime at all — Nevada decriminalized jaywalking in 2021, making it a civil infraction under NRS 484B.287 with a maximum $100 penalty (about $163 with court costs in Las Vegas courts). It's still actively ticketed on the Strip, but it can't put you in jail, and it no longer creates a criminal record. Stopping on the bridge directly above that crosswalk, oddly enough, can do both.