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

Section 98-8 protects the asphalt and concrete pathway that circles Lake Hollingsworth and is used for walking, running, jogging, and bicycling, including any sidewalk used in place of a separate path. It's unlawful to operate or park a motor vehicle on or across that pathway, or on city-owned land between the pavement of Lake Hollingsworth Drive and the lake's shoreline, at any time. 5 horsepower, or a moped, so golf carts and mopeds are covered along with cars and trucks. Six exceptions apply: driveways the city has designated, public parking areas and the property reached by those driveways, maintenance vehicles owned or run by the city or a shoreline-property owner, emergency or law-enforcement vehicles on duty or responding to a call, shoreline-property owners (and their immediate family and guests) who hold a police chief-issued permit to park on their own property, and special events where the chief of police has approved shoreline parking for the event's sponsor.

Subsection (c) creates an irrefutable presumption: if a vehicle is found parked or operated in the protected strip and doesn't fit one of the six exceptions, the law presumes it crossed the pathway illegally, removing the need for the city to prove exactly how it got there. A separate provision, Section 98-9, carves out a strip roughly 370 feet west and 385 feet east of the public boat ramp on the lake's south side, where this pathway ban does not apply.