With some exceptions, teenagers and adults next month will be barred from riding bicycles on sidewalks along a stretch of Lincoln Avenue in Willow Glen.

The ban, approved last week by the San Jose City Council, applies to Lincoln between Coe and Minnesota avenues.

Exempted from the ban are children 12 years or younger and adults accompanying them, as well as police officers. If a bicycle lane is blocked, then anyone else can also use the sidewalk as needed.

Although he hasn’t received any recent complaints from residents about people pedaling on Lincoln’s sidewalks, District 6 Councilman Pierluigi Oliverio told the Resident he supported the ban as a protective measure.

“Banning adult bicyclists from sidewalks in the Lincoln Avenue business district makes it safer for pedestrians of all ages and beloved canine companions,” Oliverio said.

City transportation officials recommended adding Lincoln to the list of streets where sidewalk biking is restricted by a city ordinance. They made the suggestion after Lincoln’s road diet was made permanent this summer.

A memo from transportation department director Jim Ortbal cited “high concentrations of pedestrians, increasing bicycling volumes, some constrained sidewalk locations, and marked bike lanes in the roadway for bicyclists to ride safely” as reasons for approving the change.

The ordinance bans bicycling on sidewalks along specific downtown streets with marked bike lanes including San Fernando Street between Cahill and Eleventh streets, First through Fourth streets between St. John and San Carlos streets, and now Lincoln. It was approved two years ago following reports of pedestrians being struck by bikers, including an elderly woman who died from head injuries in a collision with a bicyclist on the San Jose State University campus.

The city’s municipal code had not specifically prohibited bicyclists from using sidewalks before then, stating only that they were to “yield the right-of-way to all pedestrians approaching on said sidewalk or sidewalk area.”

Shiloh Ballard, executive director of Silicon Valley Bike Coalition, said the organization opposed the ban on Santa Clara Street when the ordinance was originally drafted on grounds that it was “irresponsible to kick bicyclists off the sidewalk into a treacherous street environment.” However, because Lincoln has a safer environment for riding, she called the ban there “better.”

“We are not opposed to sidewalk bans when the parallel infrastructure creates a safe environment for bicycling,” Ballard said in a statement. “On Lincoln, the bike lane and slower car speeds increase safety for bicyclists.”

“As we get more urban, the hope is that sidewalks will be jam-packed with people on foot,” she added. “It’s good that we’re anticipating that future and trying to address it.”

The ban goes into effect Dec. 8; first-time offenders will receive a $75 ticket. Signs alerting riders of the new restriction will be posted along Lincoln at a cost of about $1,000, paid for through an existing bicycle program budget.