Boulder, CO Mobility & Curb Rules: Bike Lane Rules (2026)
Key Facts
- Prohibited
- Combustion vehicles, low-power scooters in bike lanes
- Permitted in bike lanes
- E-bikes, lightweight electric vehicles, human-powered
- Citation
- Boulder Revised Code 7-4-49
- Default penalty
- $10-$500 traffic infraction, Section 7-2-4
- Related parking rule
- Section 7-6-13(a)(9) bars parking in bike lane
Summary
Boulder Revised Code Section 7-4-49 bars any gas-powered motor vehicle or low-power scooter from driving in a marked bicycle lane. Lanes signed for bicycle use still remain open to electric assisted bicycles, lightweight electric vehicles, and other human-powered vehicles alongside standard bikes.
(a)Where a traffic control device indicates that a lane is restricted to a particular class or classes of vehicle or to particular vehicle occupancies, no driver shall disobey the direction of any such device. Where traffic control devices restrict the lane to bicycles, such lane may also be used by electric assisted bicycles, lightweight electric vehicles, and by human powered vehicles.(b)No person shall drive a motor vehicle powered by a combustible engine or a low-power scooter upon or within any bicycle lane.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Municipal Code: Supplement 167 Update 3).
Full Breakdown
Section 7-4-49(a) of the Boulder Revised Code starts from the general rule that no driver may disobey a traffic control device restricting a lane to a particular class of vehicle. It then carves out bicycle lanes specifically: where signage or markings restrict a lane to bicycles, the lane remains open to electric assisted bicycles, lightweight electric vehicles, and other human-powered vehicles, not just conventional pedal bikes. Subsection (b) draws the hard line the other direction: no person may drive a motor vehicle powered by a combustible engine, or a low-power scooter, upon or within any bicycle lane, whether to travel, pass, or briefly cut through.
The section sits in Chapter 4, Operation of Vehicles, next to the city's sidewalk-driving ban in Section 7-4-50 and its restricted/play-street rule in Section 7-4-48, part of the same title-wide vehicle and pedestrian code that carries the general Title 7 penalty schedule. Boulder's bike lanes, protected and painted alike, function as reserved rights-of-way for human-powered and low-emission micromobility, and this section is the operative prohibition officers cite when a car or gas scooter is caught traveling within one, distinct from the separate parking violation in Section 7-6-13(a)(9) for stopping in a bike lane.
Violations & Fines
There is no fine written directly into Section 7-4-49, so a driving violation defaults to the Title 7 general penalty in Section 7-2-4: a traffic infraction of $10 to $500, doubled up to $500 in a posted school or construction zone. A vehicle merely parked, rather than driven, in a bike lane is cited separately under Section 7-6-13(a)(9), which bars stopping or parking in a bike lane or path.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I drive my car in a Boulder bike lane to pass traffic?
Are e-bikes allowed in Boulder's bike lanes?
What's the fine for driving in a Boulder bike lane?
Is parking in a Boulder bike lane different from driving in one?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Boulder
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Bike Lane Rules in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Boulder County handle bike lane rules.