#minneapolis bike month

Bicycle Parking Rules

Pictured above are illegally and legally parked bicycles on Nicollet Mall in the 1970s.

In 1978 a new Minneapolis ordinance passed allowing non-motorized bicycles to park on signposts. The ordinance still prohibited bicycle parking on trees, parking meter posts, street-light posts, traffic lights, fences—basically anything other than authorized bike racks and signposts—but it opened the doors to more parking options for cyclists and reduced the number of bikes being impounded. The ordinance more or less still stands:

490.150. - Attachment of objects prohibited; exception for bicycles.

No person shall secure, attach or connect in any manner any motorized vehicle, boat, … or non-motorized bicycle to any tree, parking meter post, street light post, traffic signal post or post sign; except as follows:

Bicycles that are not part of a bicycle sharing operation shall be permitted to be parked upon a sidewalk and to be temporarily attached to sign posts and bicycle racks. When parked or attached as permitted, bicycles shall not impede the normal and reasonable movement of pedestrian or other traffic. (91-Or-065, § 8, 4-12-91; Ord. No. 2018-015 , § 1, 4-27-18)

Photos of bikes parked downtown in the 1970s from the City of Minneapolis Collection in the Hennepin County Library Digital Collections.

May is National Bike Month and Minneapolis Bike Month. Find more local bike history in our Tumblr Archive.