Pedestrians in Bike Lanes
Question
Beau asked: Is there a Florida statute or specific law here in Florida, that explicitly prohibits pedestrians and joggers from using/occupying bicycle lanes? Protected, buffered or marked? I am aware of Section 316.130 (3),F.S. Has such a statute been proposed or drafted?
Answer
The statute to which you refer is this.
s. 316.130 – Pedestrians; Traffic Regulations
(3) Where sidewalks are provided, no pedestrian shall, unless required by other circumstances, walk along and upon the portion of a roadway paved for vehicular traffic.
(4) Where sidewalks are not provided, any pedestrian walking along and upon a highway shall, when practicable, walk only on the shoulder on the left side of the roadway in relation to the pedestrian’s direction of travel, facing traffic which may approach from the opposite direction.
Note that walking on a shoulder, and presumably not in the roadway, is required only when practicable.
See this post about paved shoulders marked as bike lanes.
There is no other legislation that addresses your issue.
If there’s a sidewalk pedestrians should not be on the road including the bike lane, right??
A bike lane is part of the roadway. Yes, “….unless required by other circumstances….”.
Florida law also requires bicyclist to ride in a single line, not side-by-side. Unfortunately bicyclist Want everyone else to obey the law While they ignore the laws.
Why not put bike lanes off the road on the other side of the curb for purposes of safety.
That makes sense, and it’s equal. On sidewalks pedestrians have the right away, on bike paths bikes have the right away. Finally a law that makes sense maybe it’s the start of a good thing, I hope.