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Biking Lakewood

Overview

Lakewood prides itself on being a bike-friendly city. With 15.75 of dedicated bike lanes and 3.77 miles of sharrows (marked shared routes for vehicles and bicycles), Lakewood strives to provide cyclists with space to operate safely on the roadways. 

Bicycle Laws At-A-Glance

Laws governing pedestrians, bicycles, and mobility devices (e-scooters, e-bikes, and other similar devices) are set forth in the Lakewood Codified Ordinances Chapter 373. We recommend that all drivers and cyclists become familiar with these rules. We have summarized some of the rules below.

  • General Use: You may ride your bike on the sidewalk as long as it isn’t crowded. If the sidewalk is congested with people, you must walk your bike.

  • Restricted Areas: Do not ride on sidewalks where “No Bicycling” signs are posted.

  • Prohibited Vehicles: You cannot ride oversized bikes (wider than a standard two-wheeler) or motorized mobility devices on the sidewalk, except when entering a property or parking.

  • Pedestrians First: Always yield to pedestrians. You must give a friendly verbal warning or ring a bell before passing them, ensuring you don’t startle them.

  • Safety Around Blind Pedestrians: When passing a person with a white cane or a guide dog, you must slow down and, if necessary for safety, get off your bike and walk past them.

  • Street Entry: Do not suddenly ride off a curb or sidewalk into the path of an oncoming vehicle.

  • Intersections and Driveways: If a car is approaching, you must slow down to walking speed when entering a crosswalk or crossing a driveway.

  • Age Restrictions for Children: Children under 8 years old are not permitted to ride on the following streets unless supervised by an adult:

    • Berea Road
    • Detroit Avenue
    • Madison Avenue
    • Warren Road (between Franklin Blvd and Detroit Ave)
    • West 117th Street

Bicycles and mobility devices are required to be equipped with the following:

  • A white light mounted to the front of the device visible from a distance of at least 500 feet to the front and 300 feet to the sides.
  • A red reflector on the rear of the device visible from 100 to 600 feet when riding in front of a vehicle.
  • A red light mounted to the back of the device. This light may take the place of the reflector mentioned above.
  • A functioning, adequate brake.

Reckless Operation

  • Bicyclists and mobility device users are prohibited from operating their device in a way that disregards the safety and rights of pedestrians, drivers, and occupants of other vehicles.
  • E-Scooters shall not exceed a speed of 12 miles per hour.

Traffic Signals and Signs

  • Cyclists are required to obey the instructions of official traffic signals and signs unless otherwise directed by a police officer. This includes traffic lights, stop signs, speed limits, yield signs, No Left Turn/No Right Turn signs, and all others.
  • If a cyclist dismounts the device to make a U-turn or directional turn, they are allowed to do so unless rules governing pedestrians states otherwise.

Riders and Cargo

  • Cyclists and e-bike users are not permitted to carry more riders than the device is designed for.
  • Riders may not carry packages, bags, bundles, or other items that prevent them from keeping at least one hand on the handlebars.

Bike Facilities in Lakewood

Map of the different types of bike lanes and routes in Lakewood, Ohio.

Standard Bike Lane

  • Dashed lines indicate areas where automobiles may cross or merge into bike lane to turn.
  • Marked with “Door Zones” in presence of parked cars.
  • Cyclists may exit bike lane (with caution) to turn left and avoid obstructions.
Illustration of a road with a standard bike lane painted on it. Bike lane is marked in white paint with a bicycle symbol and arrow pointing in the direction of the flow of bike traffic. Dashed lines indicate potential conflict points between automobiles and bicycles.

Sharrows

  • Alerts motorists that cyclists may be present.
  • Cyclists should stay to the right, but are allowed to fully occupy the lane.
  • Vehicles must allow at least 3 ft. of clearance when passing.
Illustration of a road lane with bike "sharrows". Marked with a bicycle symbol and two chevron arrows pointing in the direction of traffic flow painted in the middle of the lane.

Buffered Bike Lane

  • Provides extra space between cyclists and automobiles.
  • Dashed lines indicate areas where automobiles may cross or merge into bike lane.
  • Cyclists may exit bike lane (with caution) to turn left and avoid obstructions.
Illustration of a buffered bike lane. The bike lane is marked with a bicycle symbol and arrow for traffic flow, and separated by a wide buffer painted on to the road.

Protected Bike Lane

  • Provides extra space and a visual, vertical barrier between cyclists and automobiles.
  • Cyclists should stay to the right of vertical delineators when present.
Illustration of a buffered, protected bike lane. The bike lane is separated from automobile traffic by a wide painted buffer and vertical delineators or flex posts.

Bicycle Licenses

Bicycle licenses, under Lakewood codified ordinance, are required for bicycles within the city. They can be obtained at the front counter of the Police Station (12650 Detroit Ave.) or at the Community Police Ward Offices. There is no cost for the license. The person obtaining the license is required to bring the bicycle to register and record the serial numbers.

A blank paper bike license form and red license sticker.

Bike Racks for Business

The city has quality bike racks available to install at your business.  If you are interested in having a bike rack installed in front of your Lakewood business, contact Dave Baas at david.baas@lakewoodoh.gov or (216) 529-6637.

Blue bike rack stationed on Detroit Ave.