Thank you for contacting the City of Saint Paul. After further view with the Saint Paul Police Department, in the City of Saint Paul it is not illegal to park in the bike lane. This lane is considered a “Share Lane” therefor vehicles may park in the bike lane with no repercussions. They must follow any posted parking restrictions, however there is not a restriction to parking in the bike lane. If you have further questions, please call Parking Enforcement at 651-266-5585.
If someone at the Saint Paul police department actually said that cars may park in bike lanes, they are incorrect. It’s easy to find this information with a quick internet search: parking in bike lane is illegal, unless specially signed otherwise:
“No, motorists may not park in a bike lane unless signed as such. Minnesota Statute 169.34, Subdivision 1:
No person shall stop, stand, or park a vehicle, except when necessary to avoid conflict with other traffic or in compliance with the directions of a police officer or traffic-control device, in any of the following places:
(14) within a bicycle lane, except when posted signs permit parking.”
I contacted Commander Jeremy Ellison of the St. Paul Police department, who confirmed that the information provided above by ASI Admin 8 is incorrect. He encouraged me to share his response publicly in order to correct this misinformation:
"I spoke with Sr. Commander Julie Maidment and Commander Barragan. They are in charge of the parking enforcement officers in St. Paul. They do not know why that information was presented in that fashion and are going to be working with DSI to get it removed or updated to reflect an accurate message.
"The St. Paul Police Department is committed to pedestrian and bike safety. Having bike lanes that are free of parked cars is essential to that commitment. MN State Statute clearly states that it is illegal to park in a bike line and SPPD enforces that law when and where we are able.
"The SPPD commanders above wanted me to thank you for bringing this forward to us and giving us the opportunity to correct the messaging that went out."
We appreciate getting your reports. As of June 16, 2019, we will no longer monitor the Saint Paul Connect app (SeeClickFix). To submit any concerns going forward, please use our Report An Incident form: https://www.stpaul.gov/report-incident Thank you, and we look forward to hearing from you.
5 Comments
Closed DSI Admin 8 (Registered User)
Reopened Neighbor (Registered User)
If someone at the Saint Paul police department actually said that cars may park in bike lanes, they are incorrect. It’s easy to find this information with a quick internet search: parking in bike lane is illegal, unless specially signed otherwise:
“No, motorists may not park in a bike lane unless signed as such. Minnesota Statute 169.34, Subdivision 1:
No person shall stop, stand, or park a vehicle, except when necessary to avoid conflict with other traffic or in compliance with the directions of a police officer or traffic-control device, in any of the following places:
(14) within a bicycle lane, except when posted signs permit parking.”
https://www.bikemn.org/education/minnesota-bicycle-laws
JM (Registered User)
JM (Registered User)
I contacted Commander Jeremy Ellison of the St. Paul Police department, who confirmed that the information provided above by ASI Admin 8 is incorrect. He encouraged me to share his response publicly in order to correct this misinformation:
"I spoke with Sr. Commander Julie Maidment and Commander Barragan. They are in charge of the parking enforcement officers in St. Paul. They do not know why that information was presented in that fashion and are going to be working with DSI to get it removed or updated to reflect an accurate message.
"The St. Paul Police Department is committed to pedestrian and bike safety. Having bike lanes that are free of parked cars is essential to that commitment. MN State Statute clearly states that it is illegal to park in a bike line and SPPD enforces that law when and where we are able.
"The SPPD commanders above wanted me to thank you for bringing this forward to us and giving us the opportunity to correct the messaging that went out."
Acknowledged City of Saint Paul Admin (Registered User)