Tempe, AZ Mobility & Curb Rules: Bike Lane Rules (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing section
- City Code § 19-212
- Pass speed on sidewalk
- Slow to 5 mph, audible signal
- E-bike lane/street speed cap
- 28 mph or posted limit
- Multi-use path speed cap
- 20 mph
- Minimum fine
- $100 civil traffic violation
Summary
Tempe's general code sets direction-of-travel and right-of-way rules for bike lanes and sidewalks. Riders must travel with vehicular traffic on the roadway side where the lane sits, yield to pedestrians, and slow to 5 mph when passing. Violations are civil traffic tickets with a mandatory $100 minimum fine.
No person shall ride or operate a bicycle, electric bicycle or non-human powered vehicle in any direction except as permitted by vehicular traffic on the same side of the roadway where the sidewalk or bicycle lane exists; provided, that bicycles, electric bicycles or non-human powered vehicles may proceed either way where signs or pavement markings on the sidewalk or bicycle lane appear designating two-way traffic.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: City Code: Supplement 33 Update 4 | Zoning and Development Code: Supplement 11 Update 2).
Full Breakdown
City Code Sec. 19-212, in the general code's Article XIX on bicycle operation, bars riding a bicycle, electric bicycle, or non-human powered vehicle in a bike lane or sidewalk "in any direction except as permitted by vehicular traffic on the same side of the roadway," unless signs or pavement markings designate two-way travel. Riders permitted on a sidewalk must yield to pedestrians and electric personal assistive mobility devices, slowing to 5 mph and giving an audible signal before passing. Anyone entering or crossing a roadway from a sidewalk or shared use path must yield to all roadway traffic.
Sidewalk riding is allowed only where no bike lane exists and the posted speed limit exceeds 25 mph, and electric bicycles may not run on sidewalks with the helper motor engaged. A companion section, Sec. 19-214, caps electric bicycle and non-human powered vehicle speed in a bike lane or street at 28 mph or the posted limit, whichever is lower, and at 20 mph on a multi-use path, and requires slower riders to keep to the right-hand curb except when passing, turning left, or avoiding a hazard.
Sec. 19-215 separately requires an ANSI-rated helmet for any rider under 18. These provisions come from the Tempe general code, not the Zoning and Development Code, since bicycle operation is a traffic-regulation topic, not a land-use one.
Violations & Fines
Sec. 19-217 makes any violation of the bicycle article a civil traffic violation carrying a mandatory minimum fine of $100, adjudicated under the Arizona Rules of Procedure in Civil Traffic Violation Cases. Citations are issued and heard the same way as other civil traffic tickets in Tempe Municipal Court.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I ride against traffic in a Tempe bike lane?
When can I ride on the sidewalk instead of the bike lane?
What's the fine for violating Tempe's bicycle riding rules?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Tempe
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