San Leandro, CA Mobility & Curb Rules: Bike Lane Rules (2026)

San Leandro regulates where and how bicycles move on city streets through two linked sections of Chapter 6-5. Section 6-5-220 gives the City Council authority to establish, by resolution, bicycle lanes physically separated from vehicular travel lanes on designated streets, to regulate how bicycles and vehicles use those lanes, and to direct the placement of signs or pavement markings implementing the lane and its rules. Once those signs or markings are installed, it is unlawful for any person to operate or use a bicycle or vehicle contrary to what they provide, meaning a car parked or driving in a marked bike lane, or a cyclist riding against the lane's marked direction, both violate the section.

Section 6-5-215 covers riding conduct more broadly: bicycling on a sidewalk is unlawful except for juveniles age 12 or under, who may ride on residential sidewalks (but not sidewalks fronting schools, stores or business buildings) while exercising due care and yielding to pedestrians. On a roadway, a cyclist must ride as near as practicable within five feet of the right curb or edge, except when passing a standing vehicle or making a left turn. A specific carve-out in § 6-5-215(b) bans both pedestrians and cyclists from the Washington Avenue roadway beneath the Western Pacific Railroad tracks, and § 6-5-215(c) exempts San Leandro police officers performing their duties from the sidewalk-riding restriction.

These sections work together: the bike-lane resolution process under § 6-5-220 supplies the physical infrastructure, while § 6-5-215 sets the baseline riding rules that apply wherever a dedicated lane has not been marked.