Posted by Guest Post
Directional Requirements for Biking on Sidewalks in Monterey County
For other info about sidewalk riding, refer to our post
BIKING ON SIDEWALKS, plus examples of ordinances around Monterey County.
Guest post by Anon, Esquire
Note from Bicycling Monterey: Since 2009 occasionally we’ve heard conversations or seen a media report referring to someone “pedaling the wrong way down a sidewalk.” We asked a local attorney who is especially caring about the safety of people who bike to research and write on this topic. We asked that he specifically look into three Monterey County cities that we’re aware had been implied to have Directional Requirements for bicycle riding on sidewalks: Salinas, Seaside, and Marina.
California State Law
Under California law, there is no requirement that a bicyclist riding on a sidewalk travel in any particular direction.
The reason is that sidewalks are not considered part of the roadway or the highway shoulder, so the directional rule in Cal. Veh. Code § 21650.1 applies only to bicycles operated on a roadway or on the shoulder of a highway, not on sidewalks.
In Spriesterbach v. Holland (2013), the Court of Appeal confirmed that § 21650.1 does not apply to sidewalks and that bicycles on sidewalks are not required to travel in the same direction as adjacent traffic.
Cal. Veh. Code § 21650 explicitly allows bicycles to be operated on sidewalks unless prohibited by local ordinance.
Cal. Veh. Code § 21206 gives local governments the authority to regulate bicycle operation on sidewalks within their jurisdictions.
Local rules control unless they conflict with statewide law. Some cities have outright bans on riding on sidewalks. However, Salinas, Seaside, and Marina do not impose any directional requirement. More on those cities below.
Salinas
Salinas regulates sidewalk bicycle riding in Section 20‑108 of its municipal code. There is no directional travel requirement.
Here is what the ordinance actually requires:
Prohibited areas
Bicycle riding is prohibited only in areas designated by a city council resolution, and only if signage is posted stating the prohibition.
Permitted areas
Where sidewalk riding is allowed, riders must:
• use due caution
• maintain a reasonable speed
• yield to all pedestrians
• give an audible signal before overtaking and passing pedestrians
The audible‑signal requirement assumes courtesy and awareness and even contemplates riding in the same direction as pedestrians. It does not impose a direction rule.
Seaside
Seaside clearly allows sidewalk riding and directly acknowledges that bicycles may travel “in any direction.”
Seaside Municipal Code § 10.40.010 – Riding on sidewalk:
“No person shall ride a bicycle upon a sidewalk when so doing interferes with pedestrian traffic in any direction.”
This language implicitly rejects the idea that a cyclist can be traveling in the “wrong” direction on a sidewalk. The only restriction is that the cyclist must not interfere with pedestrians.
Source: https://www.codepublishing.com/CA/Seaside/#!/Seaside10/Seaside1040.html#10.40.010
Marina
Marina does not impose any directional requirement on sidewalk bicycle travel.
The relevant ordinance is Marina Municipal Code § 12.24.030, which states:
“In any area designated by resolution of the city council, it is unlawful to ride a bicycle or to ride or propel a skateboard or other similar nonmotorized vehicle on any sidewalk, street, park, shopping center, private road or parking lot or other place open to the public.”
This rule governs where riding is prohibited, not how or in which direction bicycles may travel. There is no sidewalk directional‑riding regulation in the Marina code.
Source: https://marina.municipal.codes/Code/12.24
Summary
Across California, and the cities of Seaside, Salinas, and Marina, there is no requirement that bicyclists riding on sidewalks must travel in any particular direction.
• State law does not impose such a rule.
• Courts have confirmed sidewalks are not governed by roadway directional statutes.
• Seaside expressly recognizes sidewalk riding “in any direction.”
• Salinas focuses on safety, speed, yielding, and signaling, not direction.
• Marina regulates only posted no‑riding zones, not the manner or direction of travel.
This post was published on 1 April 2026.
