Franklin, TN Mobility & Curb Rules: Bike Lane Rules (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing section
- Franklin Municipal Code § 15-128
- Parking ban
- No motor vehicle parking in bike lanes
- Named exception
- 3 McKay's Mill subdivision street segments
- Cyclist duty
- Yield and signal when leaving bike lane
- Fine schedule
- $20/$30/$50 escalating per Appendix A
Summary
Franklin, Tennessee bans parking, stopping, or standing a motor vehicle in a marked bicycle lane under City Code § 15-128, with one carved-out exception for specific McKay's Mill subdivision streets. The same section also governs cyclists: anyone entering a bike lane must yield to bikes already in it, and anyone leaving one must yield to vehicles and pedestrians and signal before merging out.
Sec. 15-128. - Bicycle lanes. (1)Motor vehicles shall not be parked, stopped or left standing in a bicycle lane except that parking shall be allowed in bicycle lanes in McKay's Mill subdivision along the bicycle lanes on the following roads: on Liberty Pike from its intersection with Turning Wheel Lane to its intersection with Waverly Place, on Market Street from its intersection with Liberty Pike to its intersection with Clovercroft Road, and on Oxford Glen Drive from its intersection with Liberty Pike to its intersection with Clovercroft Road. Future sections of McKay's Mill subdivisions shall properly address vehicular parking and bicycle lanes so that both can be accommodated simultaneously without obstructing bicycle lanes.(2)A person operating a bicycle entering a bicycle lane shall yield right-of-way to all bicycles in the bicycle lane. A person operating a bicycle leaving a bicycle lane shall yield the right-of-way to all vehicles and pedestrians. No person operating a bicycle in a bicycle lane shall leave it until the movements can be made with reasonable safety and, if any vehicle would be affected by the movement, by giving an appropriate signal before the movement is made.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 30 Update 1).
Full Breakdown
Section 15-128 does two things. Subsection (1) makes it unlawful for motor vehicles to be parked, stopped, or left standing in any city bicycle lane, with a single named exception: parking is allowed along McKay's Mill subdivision's bike lanes on three specific stretches, Liberty Pike between Turning Wheel Lane and Waverly Place, Market Street between Liberty Pike and Clovercroft Road, and Oxford Glen Drive between Liberty Pike and Clovercroft Road. The ordinance directs that future phases of McKay's Mill must design vehicle parking and bike lanes so neither obstructs the other.
Subsection (2) sets the right-of-way rules for cyclists themselves: a rider entering a bicycle lane must yield to bicycles already traveling in it, a rider leaving the lane must yield to both vehicles and pedestrians, and no rider may leave the lane until the move can be made safely and, if it would affect another vehicle, only after signaling. The same underlying rule against parking in a bike lane is repeated almost verbatim at § 15-605 inside Title 15, Chapter 6's stopping-and-parking article, which puts bike-lane parking squarely within the chapter's general parking-enforcement machinery: the presumption-of-responsibility rule at § 15-616 and the illegal-parking citation procedure at § 15-703.
That dual placement means a car parked in a Franklin bike lane outside the McKay's Mill exception can be cited and, if left unattended in violation of the parking code, is subject to the same illegal-parking enforcement used for any other unlawfully parked vehicle in the city.
Violations & Fines
Because § 15-605 duplicates the bike-lane parking ban inside Title 15, Chapter 6's parking article, a violation is processed as an illegal-parking citation under § 15-703 and priced on Appendix A's escalating parking-citation schedule: $20.00 for a first offense, $30.00 for a second, and $50.00 for a third or later offense within 12 months, plus a $1.00 state litigation tax added to every citation. An unattended vehicle left in the lane can also be towed under the chapter's impoundment authority.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I ever park in a Franklin bicycle lane?
Do cyclists have right-of-way rules in Franklin's bike lanes?
What's the fine for parking in a Franklin bike lane?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Franklin
Compare Franklin to another location·View the Tennessee mobility & curb rules overview
See something wrong?
Help us keep this page accurate. If you notice an error or outdated information, let us know.