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Bicycle Laws
Local Law - REVISED MUNICIPAL CODE - City and County of Denver

The following ordinances are related to bicycling in Denver. You may also link directly to the City and County of Denver Revised Municipal Code


ARTICLE IX. BICYCLES

DIVISION 1. GENERALLY

Sec. 54-1. Definitions.

(6) Bicycle means a propelled by human power applied to pedals upon which a person may ride having two (2) wheels in tandem or two (2) parallel wheels and one forward wheel, all of which are more than fourteen (14) inches in diameter.  

(19.5) Electrical assisted bicycle shall mean a vehicle having two (2) tandem wheels or two (2) parallel wheels and one (1) forward wheel, fully operable pedals, and electric motor not exceeding seven- hundred and fifty watts of power, and top motor-powered speed of twenty miles per hour.

 

Sec. 54-228. Passing oncoming vehicles.

(b) A driver shall not pass a bicyclist moving in the same direction and in the same lane when there is oncoming traffic unless the driver can simultaneously:

 

(1) Allow oncoming vehicles at least one-half of the main-traveled portion of the roadway; and  

(2) Allow the bicyclist at least a three-foot separation between the right side of the driver’s vehicle, including all mirrors and projections, and the left side of the bicyclist at all times.

 

Sec. 54-229. Overtaking a vehicle on the left.

 (2) The driver of a motor vehicle overtaking a bicyclist proceeding in the same direction shall allow at least a three-foot separation between the right side of the driver’s vehicle, including all mirrors or other projections, and the left side of the bicyclist at all times.

 

Sec. 54-230. When overtaking on the right side is permitted.

(2) The driver of a motor vehicle upon a one-way roadway with two or more marked lanes, when overtaking a bicyclist proceeding in the same direction and riding on the left-hand side of the road, shall allow the bicyclist at least a three-foot separation between the left side of the driver’s vehicle, including all mirrors or other projections, and the right side of the bicyclist at all times.

 

Sec. 54-564. Scope.

(a) The provisions of this article applicable to bicycles shall apply whenever a bicycle is operated upon any street, roadway, highway or upon any public path set aside for the exclusive operation and use of bicycles, subject to those exceptions contained herein.

 

(b) The provisions of this article applicable to an electrical assisted bicycle shall apply whenever an electrical assisted bicycle is operated upon any street, roadway or highway, subject to those exceptions stated herein. 
 

Sec. 54-565. Application of traffic laws.

Every person riding a bicycle or electrical assisted bicycle upon a roadway shall be granted all of the rights and shall be subjected to all of the duties applicable to the driver of a vehicle by the traffic rules and regulations of this city applicable to the driver of a vehicle, except as to special regulations and except as to the provisions of laws and ordinances which by their nature can have no application.

 

Sec. 54-567. Obedience to traffic-control devices.

(a) Any person operating a bicycle or motorized bicycles electrical assisted bicycle, shall obey the instructions of official traffic-control signals, signs and other control devices applicable to vehicles, unless otherwise directed by a police officer.

 

(b) Whenever authorized signs are erected indicating that no right or left or U-turn is permitted, it shall be unlawful for any person operating a bicycle or motorized bicycles electrical assisted bicycle to disobey the direction of any such sign, except where such person dismounts from the bicycle or motorized bicycles electrical assisted bicycle to make any such turn, in which event, such person shall then obey the regulations applicable to pedestrians.

 

Sec. 54-568. Riding on permanent seat.

It shall be unlawful for any person propelling or riding upon a bicycle or motorized bicycles an electrical assisted bicycle to ride other than astride a permanent and regular seat attached thereto.

 

Sec. 54-569. Carrying persons.

No bicycle or electrical assisted bicycle shall be used to carry more persons at one (1) time than the number for which it is designed and a bicycle or electrical assisted bicycle must be equipped with permanent seat, hand holds and foot rests.

 

Sec. 54-570. Carrying articles.

It shall be unlawful for any person operating a bicycle or electrical assisted bicycle to carry any package, bundle or article which prevents the rider from keeping at least one (1) hand upon the handlebars.

 

Sec. 54-571. Right-of-way.

A bicycle or electrical assisted bicycle shall be considered a vehicle under all portions of this Code which govern right-of-way.

 

Sec. 54-572. Riding on roadways.

(a) Every person operating a bicycle or electrical assisted bicycle upon a roadway shall ride as near to the right-hand side of the roadway as judged safe by the bicyclist to facilitate the movement of such overtaking vehicles unless other conditions make it unsafe to do so.

 

(b) Persons riding bicycles upon a roadway shall not ride more than two (2) abreast except on roadways set aside for the exclusive use of bicycles. Persons riding bicycles two abreast shall not impede the normal and reasonable movement of traffic and, on a laned roadway, shall ride within a single lane.

 

(c) Persons riding electrical assisted bicycles upon a roadway shall not ride more than two (2) abreast.

 

(d) This section shall not apply to a uniformed city, state, or federal employee riding a bicycle or electrical assisted bicycle while engaged in the discharge or his or her duties or to a police officer riding a bicycle or electrical assisted bicycle that is a marked or unmarked official police bicycle or electrical assisted bicycle, while engaged in the discharge of his or her official duties.

 

(e) An electrical assisted bicycle shall not be operated on a limited-access highway.

 

Sec. 54-573. Speed.

(a) It shall be unlawful for any person to operate a bicycle or electrical assisted bicycle on a roadway or bicycle path at a speed greater than is reasonable and prudent under the conditions then existing or in excess of the posted speed limit.

 

(b) It shall be unlawful for any person to operate a bicycle or electrical assisted bicycle on a sidewalk, which is not part of a designated bicycle route, at a speed in excess of six (6) miles per hour.

 

(c) This section shall not apply to a uniformed city, state, or federal employee riding a bicycle or electrical assisted bicycle while engaged in the discharge of his or her duties or to a police officer riding a bicycle or electrical assisted bicycle that is a marked or unmarked official police bicycle, while engaged in the discharge of his or her official duties.

 

Sec. 54-574. Emerging from alley or driveway.

The operator of a bicycle or electrical assisted bicycle emerging from an alley, driveway or building shall, upon approaching a sidewalk or the sidewalk area extending across any alleyway, yield the right-of-way to all pedestrians approaching on the sidewalk or sidewalk area, and upon entering the roadway shall yield the right-of-way to all vehicles approaching on the roadway.

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Sec. 54-575. Parking.

(a) A bicycle or electrical assisted bicycle may be parked upon a roadway at any angle to the curb or edge of the roadway at any location where parking is allowed.

 

(b) A bicycle or electrical assisted bicycle may be parked on the roadway abreast of another such bicycle or electrical assisted bicycle near the side of the roadway or any location where parking is allowed in such a manner as does not impede the normal and reasonable movement of traffic.

 

(c) A bicycle or electrical assisted bicycle may park on a sidewalk in a rack to support such bicycle or electrical assisted bicycle or against a building or at the curb, in such a manner as to not impede the normal and reasonable movement of pedestrian or other traffic.

 

Sec. 54-576. Riding on sidewalks.

(a) Riding bicycles or electrical assisted bicycles upon or along sidewalks, whether on public property or private property opened for use by the general public, shall be unlawful except:

 

(1) When the operator or rider thereof is a uniformed city employee or uniformed state employee or uniformed federal employee, which are working as part of their official duties and are riding a bicycle or electrical assisted bicycle or a police officer riding a bicycle or electrical assisted bicycle that is a marked or unmarked official police bicycle or electrical assisted bicycle or while engaged in the discharge of his or her official duties; or

 

(2) When the operator or rider of a bicycle thereof is engaged in the delivery of newspapers;

 

(3) Where the sidewalk is part of a designated bicycle route; or

 

(4) When the operator or rider thereof is preparing to dismount and park the bicycle or electrical assisted bicycle at a location on the block on which the bicycle or electrical assisted bicycle is being operated, or the operator has just mounted and has not yet crossed a street or alley.

 

(b) Bicyclists shall yield the right-of-way to pedestrians on the sidewalk.

 

(c) Riding electrical assisted bicycles upon or along sidewalks shall be unlawful, except as provided for in this section above.

 

Sec. 54-577. Prohibited on roadways where posted.

The city traffic engineer is authorized to erect signs on any roadway prohibiting the riding of bicycles or electrical assisted bicycle thereon by any person, and when such signs are in place, no person shall disobey the same, except a uniformed city or state or federal employee riding a bicycle or electrical assisted bicycle, while engaged in the discharge of his or her duties, or a police officer riding a bicycle or electrical assisted bicycle that is a marked or unmarked official police bicycle or an electrical assisted bicycle, while engaged in his or her official duties.

 

Sec. 54-578. Lamps and reflectors.

(a) Every bicycle or electrical assisted bicycle, when in use at night time, shall be equipped with a lamp on the front which shall emit a white light visible from a distance of at least five hundred (500) feet to the front.  

(b) Every bicycle or electrical assisted bicycle, when in use at night time, shall be equipped with a red reflector of a type approved by the department, which shall be visible for six (6) hundred feet to the rear when directly in front of lawful lower beams of head lamps on a motor vehicle.  

(c) Every bicycle or electrical assisted bicycle, when in use at night time, shall be equipped with reflective material of sufficient size and reflectibility to be visible from both sides for six (6) hundred feet when directly in front of lawful lower beams or head lamps on a motor vehicle or, in lieu of such reflective material, with a lighted lamp visible from both sides from a distance of at least five hundred feet.  

(d) A bicycle or electrical assisted bicycle may be equipped with lights or reflectors in addition to those required in this section.

 

Sec. 54-579. Loud sirens, whistles, etc., prohibited.

No bicycle or an electrical assisted bicycle shall be equipped with, nor shall any person install upon or use upon any bicycle or an electrical assisted bicycle a siren, whistle, or other device which emits a loud or raucous noise, except a police officer engaged in the discharge of his or her official duties and the bicycle or electrical assisted bicycle is a marked or unmarked official police bicycle or electrical assisted bicycle.

 

Sec. 54-580. Impoundment.

(a) Members of the police department are hereby authorized to remove a bicycle or an electrical assisted bicycle from any street, alley, highway, sidewalk, bridge, viaduct, tunnel, path or other public place or way, to the bicycle pound or to any lot or place maintained by the city or the department for the storage of impounded bicycles or electrical assisted bicycles, or to any other place of safety under any of the circumstances hereinafter enumerated.

 

(1) When such bicycle or electrical assisted bicycle is not in safe mechanical condition;

 

(2) When such bicycle or electrical assisted bicycle is not equipped as required by section 54-578;

 

(3) When such bicycle or electrical assisted bicycle is operated by any person under the age of sixteen (16) years in violation of any ordinance of the city relating to traffic or in violation of any of the provisions of this article.

 

 (b) No bicycle or electrical assisted bicycle removed or impounded because not in safe mechanical condition or because not equipped as required by section 54-578 shall be released until such unsafe mechanical condition has been corrected or such lacking equipment has been placed on such bicycle or the manager of safety has been satisfied that such bicycle or electrical assisted bicycle will not be ridden, propelled or operated upon any street, alley, highway, sidewalk, bridge, viaduct, tunnel, path or other public place or way until such unsafe mechanical condition has been corrected or such lacking equipment has been placed on such bicycle or electrical assisted bicycle, and such bicycle or electrical assisted bicycle shall be released to the owner or person entitled to the possession thereof when the same is in safe mechanical condition and when such lacking equipment has been placed thereon or when the manager of safety has been so satisfied.

 

(c) No bicycle or electrical assisted bicycle removed or impounded because operated by any person under the age of sixteen (16) years in alleged violation of any ordinance of the city relating to traffic or in alleged violation of any of the provisions of this article shall be released until the manager of safety shall have had a reasonable period of time in which to investigate or cause to be investigated the facts relative to such alleged violation; if at the conclusion of such investigation the manager finds such alleged violation to have occurred, the manager may order such bicycle or electrical assisted bicycle to be retained or further impounded for such further period not exceeding thirty (30) days as in the manager's discretion shall seem proper, and at the expiration of such period or upon the conclusion of such investigation if the manager shall determine that such alleged violation did not occur, such bicycle shall be released to the owner or person entitled to the possession thereof.

 

(d) Whenever a bicycle or electrical assisted bicycle is removed from any public place or way or impounded as authorized by this article and the identity of the owner or person entitled to the possession thereof is known, such owner or person shall be given notice in writing of the fact of such removal or impounding, the reasons therefor, and the place to which the bicycle or electrical assisted bicycle has been removed or in which it is impounded.

 

(e) Whenever a bicycle or electrical assisted bicycle shall have been impounded for a period of two (2) months and no claim of ownership or the right to the possession thereof shall have been made and established to the satisfaction of the manager of safety, the manager shall consider such bicycles or electrical assisted bicycle as abandoned and the property of the city, to be disposed of as such, after the first advertising in one or more official publications of the city a notice stating that all bicycles impounded and unclaimed for a period of two (2) months will be considered as abandoned and become city property if not properly claimed within ten (10) days of the date of publication of the notice.

 

(f) The manager of safety shall be, and is hereby empowered and authorized to adopt rules and regulations governing the procedure to be followed in the removal and impounding of bicycles or electrical assisted bicycle pursuant to the provisions of this article.

 

Sec. 54-582. Responsibilities of dealers.

Every person engaged in the business of buying or selling new or secondhand bicycles shall make a report to the police department of every bicycle purchased or sold by such dealer, giving the name and address of the person from whom purchased, or to whom sold, a description of such bicycle by name or make, and the frame number thereof.


State Law  - Bicycle Safety Act

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