Palatine, IL Mobility & Curb Rules: Bike Lane Rules (2026)

Section 28-143 sets Palatine's rules for operating a bicycle on a street or sidewalk. Riders must obey all official traffic-control signals, signs and devices applicable to vehicles, and no one may ride a bicycle on a sidewalk, street or business plaza where the village council has posted signs prohibiting it. Bicyclists on a street or sidewalk must ride single file, not abreast, and when riding on a street must stay as near the right curb or edge of the roadway as conditions permit so as not to interfere with motor vehicle traffic, exercising due care when passing a standing or parked vehicle or other obstruction.

Riders must yield to motor vehicles turning right at intersections and, before turning, changing lanes or stopping, must give a hand signal from the left side of the bicycle (arm extended horizontally for a left turn, extended upward for a right turn, extended downward to stop or slow). The section separately bars carrying more people than the bicycle is designed for, riding other than on a permanently attached seat, carrying a package that takes a hand off the handlebars, operating under the influence of liquor or drugs, and attaching the bicycle or rider to another vehicle on a street, sidewalk or public way.

Every bicycle ridden between sunset and sunrise must show a lighted white or amber-tinted front lamp visible 500 feet, a red rear reflector visible 100 feet, and side reflectors visible 500 feet. Violations of this section fall under the chapter's general penalty in § 28-32, and § 28-144 lets police impound a bicycle abandoned for more than 24 hours or parked in violation of the article.