Ankeny, IA Mobility & Curb Rules: Bike Lane Rules (2026)

Ankeny's Traffic Code, Chapter 76, sets the rules for interactions between motor vehicles and bicycles, electric scooters and other power-driven mobility devices (OPDMDs). Section 76.04 applies the general Traffic Code and the state rules of the road under Iowa Code Sec. 321.234 to every bicycle and scooter rider. Section 76.05, Motor Vehicle Operations, is the core bike lane rule: drivers must yield the right-of-way to bicycles and electric scooters in a designated bicycle lane and may not drive a motor vehicle within one, with a single carve-out allowing entry to prepare for a turn within 200 feet of an intersection.

The same section sets a minimum three-foot lateral passing distance for any driver overtaking a cyclist or scooter rider on a paved shoulder or in a bike lane, bars leaving a car door open longer than needed to load or unload, requires drivers to yield to pedestrians and dismounted or mounted riders in marked and unmarked crosswalks, and prohibits parking in bicycle lanes, bicycle paths or multi-use trails. Section 76.06 separately bars steering a vehicle unreasonably close to a rider or pedestrian and bars throwing objects at them, citing Iowa Code Sec.

321.281. Section 76.07 sets rider-side duties: no more passengers than the bicycle is designed for, a 20 mph cap on bike lanes, paths and sidewalks absent a posted limit, and a duty to keep the device under control. Enforcement runs through the Ankeny Police Department, and Section 76.11 makes any violation of Chapter 76, including the bike lane and passing-distance rules, punishable as a simple misdemeanor.