Highlands County, FL Mobility & Curb Rules: Bike Lane Rules (2026)

Chapter 11, article II of the Highlands County Code defines a 'bicycle path' as any road, path or way open to bicycle travel that is physically separated from motorized vehicular traffic by an open space or barrier, located either within a highway right-of-way or on its own independent right-of-way. Building on that definition, Sec. 11-52(1) lists the places countywide where a driver may not stop, stand or park, and clause (1)b puts sidewalks, bicycle paths and bicycle lanes in the same prohibited category as the roadway side of a parked car, an intersection or a crosswalk.

The rule applies throughout the unincorporated area except when a stop is necessary to avoid a traffic conflict or to comply with a law enforcement officer's direction or an official traffic control device. Because the ordinance is written as a parking and obstruction rule rather than a bicycle operator's rules-of-the-road statute, it targets motorists who block a marked bike lane or path, not the conduct of cyclists riding in one. Enforcement runs through the same civil infraction system as the rest of article II: a law enforcement officer or an approved traffic infraction enforcement person issues a parking ticket under Sec.

11-57, the vehicle owner has fifteen days to pay or request a hearing before the code enforcement clerk, and unpaid tickets accrue a $15 delinquency fee before being sent to collections. Sec. 11-56 sets the fine for a Sec. 11-52 violation at $30, since blocking a bicycle path is not among the higher $100 disabled-parking-space fines reserved for Sec. 11-54.