Portland, ME Mobility & Curb Rules: Bike Lane Rules (2026)

Sec. 28-189 of Portland's Code of Ordinances, part of Chapter 28's Article V Police Traffic Division, states plainly: no person shall stop or operate any motor vehicle within a bicycle lane and pedestrian lane designated as such by the city traffic engineer. The prohibition applies citywide wherever the traffic engineer has striped and signed a lane for bicycle and pedestrian use, so no street-by-street ordinance is required, any lane so designated is automatically covered. The section traces to Ordinance No. 183-97, adopted January 22, 1997.

Enforcement runs through the general penalty and waiver provisions Sec. 28-190 sets for the whole article. A driver who stops or drives in a marked bicycle lane faces a fine of not less than $55.00 nor more than $275.00 under the general-penalty clause. Sec. 28-190(b) lets a person who files a written answer of "not contested," "guilty," or who otherwise admits the charge within twenty days after being served a summons pay a fixed waiver amount instead of appearing in court, the same waiver mechanism the code applies to the traffic-control-device citations listed in its companion fee schedule. Because Article V's fee schedule does not list a separate waiver figure specific to Sec. 28-189, the $55–$275 general-penalty bracket governs, and a District Court judge sets the amount within that range.

The text carries no exception for brief stops, deliveries, or hazard-flasher use, it is an unqualified prohibition on stopping or operating a motor vehicle in the lane. Portland police enforce the section as a Chapter 28 moving violation, and the requirement that the lane be "designated as such by the city traffic engineer" means the traffic engineer's striping and signage decisions, not the ordinance text itself, determine exactly which streets are covered.