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Blocking Bike Lanes with Cars or Trash Cans is Illegal
Blocking a bike lane and standing in a red zone | Photo by Peggy Archer via LAist Featured Photos on Flickr
Bicycle activist and blogger Ted Rogers is among a handful of cyclists who received an advance look at training materials to be handed down to rank and file officers for better enforcement and protection surrounding cycling on Los Angeles streets. One thing absent from a list of laws to enforce was blocking bike lanes so he asked a commander and got an answer.
A bike lane, he explained, is a lane of traffic. And it is against the law to block any traffic lane without a permit. Which means that those trash cans and recycling bins blocking the bike lane in the picture up above are violating the law. As are the countless tree limbs, advertising signs, double-parked cars and other assorted hazards we frequently find blocking our way on the few strips of asphalt dedicated to our exclusive use.
Of course, it’s one thing to confirm it’s illegal. It’s another entirely to get someone to enforce it.