Raleigh, NC Mobility & Curb Rules: Bike Lane Rules (2026)

City Code Sec. 11-3006, Use of Bike Lanes by Motor Vehicles, makes it unlawful for any person to drive, park, stop or stand a motor vehicle in a bike lane designated as such on official Traffic Schedule No. 26, Bicycle Lanes, unless otherwise permitted. The section carves out exceptions when a driver needs to cross or briefly use the lane to reach or leave a public street, alley, private driveway or other entranceway; when a driver stops temporarily to load or unload passengers or materials if otherwise permitted elsewhere in the chapter; and when stopping is required to obey traffic regulations, signs, or a police officer's signal.

Subsection (b) allows a driver approaching a turn at an intersecting street or driveway to cross or merge into the bike lane after yielding to other traffic already in the lane. Subsection (c) similarly allows a driver accessing on-street parking adjacent to a bike lane to merge into the lane after yielding, in order to complete the parking maneuver. Separately, Sec. 11-3007 makes it unlawful for a motor vehicle to overtake a bicycle proceeding in the same direction at a distance of less than two feet to the left, protecting cyclists riding in mixed traffic where no dedicated lane exists. Both sections were adopted together as part of the 2013 recodification of the Raleigh Bicycle Regulations, Ord. No. 2013-239, §3, adopted November 5, 2013.