New Braunfels, TX Mobility & Curb Rules: Bike Lane Rules (2026)

Section 126-271 sets the core rule of the road for cyclists on New Braunfels streets. Subsection (a) requires a person riding a bicycle slower than the normal, reasonable speed of surrounding traffic to stay in the right-hand lane and ride as far right as a reasonable bicyclist judges safe, so overtaking vehicles can pass, unless conditions make that unsafe. That default gives way to six listed exceptions in (a)(2): a cyclist may leave the right-hand lane when passing another vehicle, preparing for a left turn, avoiding a hazard, when the lane is too narrow to share safely side by side with a vehicle, when approaching an intersection with a dedicated right-turn lane the cyclist doesn't intend to use, when riding on a one-way street, where the cyclist may hug the left curb, or when riding on a part of the roadway set aside for bicycles.

Subsection (b) protects cyclists from being expected to ride through hazards or without a reasonable safety margin on their right. Subsection (c) governs group riding: cyclists may not ride more than two abreast except on paths or roadway sections reserved exclusively for bicycles, riders going two abreast still can't impede the normal flow of traffic, and on a laned roadway two abreast must stay within a single lane rather than spreading across two. Subsection (d) closes the section by stating that a cyclist complying with it, and not violating any other law, is not impeding traffic, a defense against harassment or obstruction complaints from drivers. The section was substantially rewritten by Ordinance No. 2019-02 in January 2019.