Dallas, TX Mobility & Curb Rules: E-Bike Classes (2026)

Chapter 9 of the Dallas City Code, adopted by Ord. 22764 and last amended by Ord. 31403, governs bicycles and electric bicycles together rather than splitting riders by the state's three-tier class system. Sec. ' That state definition covers all three classes as a single category for Dallas purposes, so a Class 1, Class 2, or Class 3 machine is regulated identically under the city's traffic code. Sec. 9-1(b) makes every rider 'subject to provisions of all laws and ordinances applicable to the driver of any other vehicle,' with one carve-out: it is not unlawful to ride a bicycle or electric bicycle on a public sidewalk anywhere in the city outside the central business district, a zone the ordinance draws street-by-street from Young Street to Hawkins Street, Pacific Avenue, Pearl Street, Ross Avenue, and Austin Street.

Riders on a sidewalk must yield the right-of-way to pedestrians and give an audible signal before passing. Sec. L. 001 of the Texas Transportation Code,' meaning the freeway ban does not reach electric bicycles at all. A parent or guardian who knowingly permits a minor to violate the chapter is separately liable under Sec. 9-5. Article II's helmet mandate in Sec. 9-8 applies only to riders under 18 on a bicycle as defined for that article; it does not add a class-based carve-out either. Because the city code text never uses the words 'Class 1,' 'Class 2,' or 'Class 3,' any class-specific trail or path restriction in Dallas comes from park-specific signage or the separate motor-assisted-scooter rules in Chapter 28, not from Chapter 9 itself.