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

Dubuque City Code § 7-7-11 generally requires every person driving a bicycle to ride in the right-hand through lane of the roadway, but it lists six situations where that changes, most notably "when driving a bicycle in a bicycle lane." The same section allows a cyclist to leave the right lane when preparing for a left turn, when reasonably necessary for safety, when overtaking and passing on the left of another vehicle, when riding in the left through lane on a one-way street, or when riding on a sidewalk as permitted under § 7-7-18.

If traffic is being impeded because a cyclist is moving slower than surrounding traffic, subsection B requires the cyclist to keep to the right four feet of the street, or the left four feet on a one-way street, until the following traffic has passed, unless safety requires otherwise. Section 7-7-14 adds that, beyond the passing-on-the-right situations Iowa law already allows, a Dubuque cyclist may pass on the right if the overtaking bicycle is in a bike lane, or if it is riding to the right of vehicles stopped or moving in the right-hand lane, subject to limits on passing a vehicle stopped at an intersection or one signaling a right or left turn.

Section 7-7-15 separately bars passing another vehicle within the same lane, though a bicycle may pass another bicycle in the same lane if it stays at least three feet away and does so safely.