Bicycling – Rules & Regulations

Yes, your bicycle is considered a vehicle and you may continue to ride in the street along Main street. If you choose to ride, it is best to “take the lane” for increased visibility and to avoid the possibility of getting “doored” by people exiting a parked car. vehicle. Staff recommends that people riding bicycles consider using the parallel alleys and side streets for safer, lower-stress bicycling travel routes.

Breezeways remain open to active biking; please dismount and walk your bike once you reach the Main St. Sidewalk and when crossing Main Street at the mid-block. Riding a bike through the mid-block crossing is still allowed, but people walking and on bicycles are required to enter the crosswalk only when it is safe to do so.

Best way to reach bus stops is to ride the number streets; when you exit the bus, please refrain from biking until you are in the breezeway or on an avenue.

Yes, please use the existing bicycle racks on Main Street for visibility and convenience. If there is no existing bicycle rack, please call the City of Longmont at 303-651-8330 to recommend a new location (for a new bicycle rack). Leave a message about where a new bike rack should be located. A staff member will contact you to determine the best location for a new bike rack.

Signage is posted around downtown to help direct people on bicycles around the pedestrian-only zone. Signage shows where the pedestrian-only zones begin and end on Main Street sidewalks.

The Longmont Police Department as well as Downtown Park Rangers enforce the pedestrian only zone on Main Street as of January 1, 2021. Pedestrians are encouraged to politely remind people on bicycles in this Pedestrian-Only zone to please dismount when on the sidewalks, when enforcement officials are not present.

Signs are at the entrances to one-way alleys signifying that people riding bicycles are exempt from the one-way restrictions for motorized vehicles in the alleys. Signs are at the breezeway/alleyway access points to remind people on bicycles that the alleys are two-way for them.

Main Street is a critical state highway and arterial street plowed by the City of Longmont. The alleys are considered critical for deliveries, and are often plowed soon after the arterial streets, during and after a storm event.

There are no plans to alter the mid-block crossings at this point, including removing parking. Visibility for pedestrians and people on bicycles has been greatly enhanced with the added sidewalk space at the mid-block crossing areas. The City will re-evaluate the sight-distance issues as needed, especially with the various furniture and landscaping elements. If there is a specific concern, please call the City at 303-651-8330.

First, thank you for your support of Longmont and Main Street businesses! If the bike is considered a “strider” bicycle, with feet in contact with the ground, or even has pedals but your child uses their feet to stride or walk the bike, this is considered “pedestrian”. The rule is intended to keep a bike slow and “walked” with no active pedaling along this portion of the sidewalk.

The fines will be assessed at the discretion of the enforcement officer, and ultimately the City’s courts. Typically a warning will be issued first. Fines will be likely after multiple offenses by the same person, unless the enforcement official feels that the offense is egregious. At this point the fine would be a maximum of $300.00.

Many of the shops along Main Street are considered “bicycle friendly”, though typically bikes are not allowed inside the businesses for space and safety concerns. Please check with the business first to see if bicycles are welcome inside.

All numbered avenues have camera sensors at Main Street. The sensor cameras will pick up a person on a bicycle, in the travel lane, to change the traffic signal (may be up to a 2 minute wait, which is the same as motorized vehicles). The City does not have this technology on the avenue crossings on Coffman Street yet, though there are magnetic loops in the pavement that can be seen as black lines and circles behind the stop bar for the intersection.  If the crankshaft of the bicycle is placed in the area where these loops and lines meet, the signal should activate for the rider.  The other option is to push the pedestrian signal. This condition will be addressed when Coffman Street is rebuilt as part of larger project to be complete in 2026.

No, unicycles are considered a pedaled device and not pedestrian. If a rider’s feet are not in continuous contact with the sidewalk (e.g. skateboards and scooters as well), then it’s not allowed to be ridden, unless the device is necessary for a person with disabilities.

As with mid-block crossings, entering a crosswalk on a bicycle or as a walker must be done thoughtfully, entering the crosswalk when it is safe to do so and during the “walk” cycle of the pedestrian signal. The pedestrian-only zones are on the north/south sidewalks along portions of Main Street, so bikes would dismount if they turned north or south on these sidewalks at these intersections. Bicycles can also ride within the roadway, behaving the same as a motorized vehicle.