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

Chapter 12, Article IV of the Chatham County Code, titled 'Bicycle Paths,' contains a single substantive rule and it is location-specific rather than a general bike-lane law: Sec. 12-401 makes it unlawful for any person, association or corporation to operate gasoline motor-propelled machinery, including but not limited to motorcycles, mini-bikes, go-carts, or any other motorized vehicle, on the Bicycle Path on Wilmington Island. The county code has no separate section governing how cyclists must ride in a bike lane, how motorists must pass a cyclist, or obstruction of bike lanes elsewhere in unincorporated Chatham County; this ordinance addresses only motorized incursions onto the one designated Wilmington Island path.

Sec. 12-402 sets the penalty: a fine not to exceed $100, up to 30 days in jail, or both, at the court's discretion. Sec. 12-403 repeals any conflicting prior ordinances, and Sec. 12-404 sets the effective date as December 21, 1984, meaning this rule has stood unchanged on the books for four decades. Because the ban is written to reach any 'gasoline motor propelled machinery,' it does not extend to non-gasoline devices such as electric bicycles or golf carts, which the text does not address; enforcement is limited to the specific device types the section actually names or functionally matches. The Chatham County Police Department enforces the section within the unincorporated area, which includes Wilmington Island itself.