Parking in Bike Lanes
Question
Steven asked: Our county has adopted Complete Streets and will be installing dedicated bike lanes on a street near my home. The county reduced the travel lane sizes to install bike lanes. It is a four-lane street. There is a daycare that is using the street for drop off and pickup. The area where they park will now be a bike lane. What is the law about temporary parking and bike lanes? At certain times there can be 10 cars parked in the street, future bike lane.
Answer
It sounds like their standing is longer than momentarily, so they will have to find somewhere else to park.
s. 316.1945 – Stopping, Standing, or Parking Prohibited in Specified Places
(1) Except when necessary to avoid conflict with other traffic, or in compliance with law or the directions of a police officer or official traffic control device, no person shall:
(b) Stand or park a vehicle, whether occupied or not, except momentarily to pick up or discharge a passenger or passengers:
6. On an exclusive bicycle lane.
That’s the law in Florida. In practice, the reallocation of curbside roadway area that has been used for one purpose (in this case, short-term standing or parking) for another purpose (bike lane) doesn’t necessarily eliminate demand for the former use.
Parking lanes that received little use have been successfully removed, but on streets where use for standing or parking is significant (during certain times, at least) and off-street parking or waiting areas are not increased (or made easier to use), on-street standing or parking usage patterns may persist. The agency that puts lane markings on the roadway isn’t the agency responsible for enforcing lane-usage rules. Enforcing the prohibition on standing or parking in a bike lane isn’t always a priority for local law enforcement.
Steven,
Signage is not required for it to be a bike lane, but is optional, so that would seem to be a good place to request “Bike Lane – No Parking” signs from the agency installing the bike lanes.
You may also want to contact your local law enforcement agency if it becomes a problem after installation, asking them to enforce the statute above.
Your local Bicycle/Pedestrian Advisory Committee or bicycle clubs may be of assistance.