Decatur, GA Mobility & Curb Rules: Bike Lane Rules (2026)

City Code § 98-20, Bicycle lanes, improper use, defines a bicycle lane as a portion of the roadway designated by striping, pavement markings or signage for the exclusive or preferential use of bicycle operators. Subsection (b) makes it unlawful to drive or otherwise operate a motor vehicle in, on or across a bicycle lane except in five specific circumstances: when turning into or leaving property adjacent to the roadway, when turning onto or from another public or private roadway, when turning into or leaving a designated on-street parking space, when yielding the right of way to an authorized emergency vehicle, or when driving an authorized emergency vehicle in the performance of duty.

Subsection (c) separately bans parking a motor vehicle in, on or across a bicycle lane except when necessary for an authorized emergency vehicle performing its duty, when the vehicle is inoperable as defined in § 98-5, or when a police officer directs the driver to park there. Subsection (d) sets the penalty: unless another penalty is expressly provided by state law, every person convicted of violating any provision of § 98-20 is punished under § 1-12, the city's general penalty section for code violations. The section was adopted by Ord.

No. O-13-01 on February 4, 2013, making it one of the newer additions to Chapter 98's traffic and vehicles article, reflecting the city's build-out of on-street bike infrastructure in the years before adoption.