Legal Question in Traffic Law in Louisiana

Re: playing in streets

There certainly is no state law against playing on residential streets. Shreveport may have adopted some local ordinance against it, but it would be the first I have heard of any parish or city adopting such an ordinance.

I know I played in our residential street all the time as a kid and nobody ever stopped us. That's what suburban kids do.

Whether the police should stop a kid from playing in a street really depends heavilly on the circumstances--especially on what kind of street it is, what the speed limit is, how much traffic passes there, etc. There is a state law against impeding traffic. If the kids are blocking traffic and/or if the street is a busy street and playing in the street is a danger to the kids and/or drivers, the police have every right to stop them from doing so. It is an inherent power the police have to keep the public safe and keep traffic flowing. But if you are talking about a small residential street in a subdivision, I don't see how it hurts anyone to let the kids play ball in the street. I did and I never had a problem.