Bicycle Safety and General Bicycle Lane information 

Motorists and bicyclists have equal rights and responsibilities to obey all traffic laws. Cyclists and drivers must share the road to avoid dangerous situations.

Three types of bicycle facilities are being installed:

• Bike lanes – separate lanes just for bicycles
• Shared lanes – lanes to be shared by bicycles and motorists
• Bike Routes – signed routes for bicycles to travel, no road markings present

Motorists can stay safe and keep bicyclists safe by doing the following:

• Search surroundings for other vehicles including bicyclists.
• Yield to bicyclists as you would other motorists and do not underestimate the speed of bicyclists. This helps avoid turning in front of a bicyclist traveling in the bicycle lane at an intersection or driveway.
• Give cyclists room. Do not pass too closely. Pass bicycles as you would any other vehicle.
• Obey the speed limit, reduce speed for road conditions and drive defensively to avoid a crash with a cyclist.

Motorists can drive in the bicycle lane if the bicycle lanes are not in use. Residents who utilize on-street parking can park in the bicycle lanes.

Safety tips for bicycling:

• Obey street signs, signals, and road markings, just like a car.
• Wear equipment to protect yourself and make yourself more visible to others, like a bike helmet, bright clothing (during the day), reflective gear, and a white front light and red rear light and reflectors on your bike (at night, or when visibility is poor).
• Use the bicycle lanes if they are available.
• Use hand signals to indicate what you intend to do: left or right turns, slowing or stopping.
• Ride with the flow of traffic.
• Ride single file.
• Look before turning.
• Watch for parked cars and trash and recycling carts; cars are allowed to park in the bicycle lanes.
• Look for cars backing out of driveways and turning.
• No texting, listening to music or using anything that distracts you by taking your eyes and ears or your mind off the road and traffic.

Bicyclists who violate traffic laws will be subject to the same penalties as motor vehicle drivers.

When a bicycle lane is not available, a person operating a bicycle on a roadway shall ride as near as practicable to the right curb or edge of the roadway.

However, under the following conditions bicyclists may take the full lane of travel:

• The bicyclist is passing another vehicle moving in the same direction.
• The bicyclist is preparing to turn left at an intersection or onto a private road or driveway.
• When there are unsafe conditions on the roadway, including fixed or moving objects, parked or moving vehicles, pedestrians, animals or surface hazards that prevent the bicyclist from safely riding next to the curb or edge of the roadway.
• The lane is of substandard width (less than 14 feet in width and not having a designated bicycle lane adjacent to that lane) making it unsafe for a bicycle and a motor vehicle to safely travel side by side.

Note: When on a one-way street, cyclists can ride to the far left instead of the far right.

Additionally, persons operating bicycles on a roadway may ride two abreast. Persons riding two abreast on a laned roadway shall ride in a single lane.

Persons riding two abreast may not impede the normal and reasonable flow of traffic on the roadway or make passage of traffic unreasonably inconvenient.

Crashes and falls can be avoided if motorists and cyclists watch out for each other and follow the rules of the road. 

The instructions below apply to both bicyclists and pedestrians if a crash occurs. 

• Always call the police when an injury or fatality is involved.
• The vehicles cannot be moved.
• You suspect one of the drivers is intoxicated.
• One of the drivers has no insurance.
• One of the drivers leaves the scene.

Bicycle Crash Checklist

• Call (or ask someone to call) 9-1-1 and ask for the police. Do not hesitate to ask for an ambulance if you are hurt.
• Move your bicycle out of the roadway to a safer place.
• If a motor vehicle is involved, ask the driver to provide his or her address, phone number, vehicle identification number, vehicle license plate number, insurance information and driver's license information.
• Get names and phone numbers of any witnesses — the more the better. A business card is great.
• Stay at the scene until the police arrive. If the driver leaves, he/she may be guilty of hit and run, which is a serious crime. Be prepared to describe the driver.

More safety tips are available from the Texas Department of Transportation’s Guide to Safe Bicycling.

Tyler Bike Stripes Project

Project Information

The project identifies 11 bicycle lane routes and a centralized hub near the downtown area. The proposed work includes painting bicycle lanes and placing designated signage along the existing roadways. An overview of all the routes is provided below along with plans for the new "spokes." 

• Complete Overview  
• Spoke 1 – From UT Tyler along Old Omen Road, McDonald Road, Golden Road, Devine Street and Mahon Road to Tyler Junior College (Spoke 1 Plans)
• Spoke 2 – From Loop 323 along Garden Valley Road and W. Oakwood Street to Bonner Avenue; From Oakwood Street from Bonner Avenue to Ferguson Street; From N. Glenwood Boulevard along Forest Avenue and S. Lyons Avenue to S. Parkdale Drive; From Forest Avenue along W. Erwin Street to Confederate Avenue (Spoke 2 Plans)
• Spoke 3 – From Loop 323 along Paluxy Drive, Decharles Street, Amherst Street and Donnybrook Avenue to Houston Street (Spoke 3 Plans)
• Spoke 4 – From Loop 323 along Bellwood Road and Houston street to S. Vine Avenue; From Shaw Street along S. Lyons Avenue to Bellwood Road (Spoke 4 Plans)
• Spoke 5 – From Cambridge Road, along Townhouse Drive, Heritage Drive, Baylor Drive, Karen Drive, Powell Drive, Barbee Drive and Sutherland Drive to E. Grande Boulevard; From Rose Rudman Park along Donnybrook Avenue to Amherst Street (Spoke 5 Plans)
• Spoke 6 – From Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard along Palace Avenue, Harmony Street, Border Avenue, W. Queen Street, N. Ross Avenue, W. Bow Street, Moore Avenue to W. Oakwood Street (Spoke 6 Plans)
• Spoke 7 – From west of Three Lakes Parkway on Dueling Oaks, along Dueling Oaks, Hollytree Drive, Rieck Road, Cloverdale Drive, Trenton Drive, Timberwilde Drive, Old Bullard Road and Shelley Drive to Driftwood Lane; From Shelley Drive along Brookside Drive and Beechwood Drive to Sunnybrook Drive(Spoke 7 Plans)
• Spoke 8 – From Loop 323 along N. Broadway Avenue, W. 32^nd Street, Glass Avenue and W. 28^th Street to Mamie G. Griffin Elementary School; From Texas College along W. 29^th to Glass Avenue; From W. 24^th Street along N. Palace Avenue to W. 29^th Street (Spoke 8 Plans)
• Spoke 9 – From Donnybrook Avenue along Amherst Street and Sunnybrook Drive to Frankston Highway.; From Sunnybrook Drive along Camellia Street, W. Azalea Drive, Terre Haute Drive and San Jacinto Drive to Milam Drive; From W. Houston Street along S. Chilton Avenue, W. 6^th Street and Robertson Avenue to Sunnybrook Drive (Spoke 9 Plans)
• Spoke 10 – From Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard along Winona Avenue, E. Hillsboro Avenue, Church Avenue and Pabst Avenue to E. Queen Street (Spoke 10 Plans)
• Spoke 11 - From Loop 323 along E. Erwin Street to S. Beckham Avenue; From E. Erwin Street along Palmer Avenue to Devine Street (Spoke 11 Plans)
• Hub – Along Houston Street, S. Fannin Avenue, W. Erwin Street, W. Ferguson Street, N. Bonner Avenue and S. Vine Avenue (Hub Plans)

Maps of the bike routes are available on the City of Tyler website where you can see a map of the complete overview and a map of each spoke.

May 11, 2020 – Public Hearing Content 

• Public Hearing Recording
• PowerPoint Slides
• Public Comment-Response Matrix

Following the May 11, 2020 Public Hearing Comment period that closed on May 26, 2020 a few route modifications were proposed to Route 7 and the Downtown Hub based on citizen comments. Mailers were sent to residents/businesses that would be affected by the route changes and feedback was taken until June 29, 2020. A final comment/response matrix of all comments received was prepared and updated plans have been submitted to TxDOT for final review and approval prior to going to bid in August 2020

Current Bicycle Routes

As part of the Tyler 21 Plan, the City of Tyler is committed to developing alternatives to automobile transportation by making pedestrian and bike travel a priority. Bike routes, bike lanes and the hike and bike trail systems connect parks, offices, retail centers, lodging, schools and neighborhoods; all to promote a healthy lifestyle and eco-friendly community.

Bike Routes are designated roadways where bicyclists share the road with vehicular traffic.

Bike Lanes are areas with specific striping to designate the area bicyclists should ride in.