Stop the Noise Appleton

Happy Independence Day!!! 250 years of Freedom. Let’s not confuse freedom with nuisance, vanity and purposefully disturbing other’s quality of life. Peace and love 🇺🇸. Appleton Police Department City of Appleton Government Appleton Downtown

👏🏼 👏🏼 👏🏼 well done. Now just please give out more noise citations City of Appleton Government and Appleton Police Department

A reminder to motorists: If you are cited for Reckless Driving (Wis. Stat. § 346.62), your vehicle may be towed from the scene.

Reckless driving puts everyone at risk.

The goal is simple: improve safety on our roadways and prevent serious crashes before they happen.

Please drive responsibly and make safe choices behind the wheel.

The Appleton Police Department has put out this community survey. This asks a range of questions, but it would be a good place to register your concern about noise. Part of getting increased enforcement is logging on to these surveys and letting people know how you feel.

APPLETON POLICE DEPARTMENT LAUNCHES COMMUNITY SURVEY TO STRENGTHEN PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT

(APPLETON, Wis. – June 9, 2026) – The Appleton Police Department is inviting residents, workers, and visitors to share their perspectives through a newly launched Community Survey.

The survey, spearheaded by Lieutenant Adam Nagel, is designed to gather feedback on how the department can best serve the community, address local concerns, and strengthen its connection with the people of Appleton.

“Hearing directly from our community helps ensure we are aligned with the expectations of the people we serve,” said Lieutenant Nagel. “Every voice matters, and this survey is an important tool to guide our work moving forward.”

The survey will remain open through July 17, 2026. It can be taken online through the following links:

Community Survey - English -
https://appletonpdwi.evidence.com/api/drawbridge/community/public/surveys-web/SRV-825310

Kev Tshawb Fawb Hauv Zej Zog - Hmoob -
https://appletonpdwi.evidence.com/api/drawbridge/community/public/surveys-web/SRV-691913

Encuesta Comunitaria - Español -
https://appletonpdwi.evidence.com/api/drawbridge/community/public/surveys-web/SRV-414553

In addition to the online survey, Appleton Police officers will be engaging with the community in person, sharing information and answering questions at public events and locations. The first public engagement will be at the Appleton Public Library on June 11, 2026, from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. Additional in-person locations and times will be announced on the Appleton Police Department’s social media channels.

The Appleton Police Department expresses its appreciation to everyone who takes the time to participate and contribute to shaping the future of public safety in Appleton.

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Here is a description of a modest resolution that asks the City of Appleton to study methods for tracking noise data. This alderperson is trying to move the discussion of noise away from anecdotes and guesses and instead base the discussion on actual data. How much vehicular noise is too much?

The city of Appleton collects data of all sorts. If you look up at the street lights along College Avenue you see a number of devices for collecting or communicating data. But this city administration resists collecting data about the occurrence of vehicular noise.

Data on noise is the first step for understanding 1) the scope of the problem, and 2) evidence of positive change. I submitted last week a resolution that takes the initial step of asking the city to study how to get better data on noise, and returning to council with options.

Instead of sending this resolution on to a committee for debate, the mayor immediately referred the resolution back to his office, where it can be held for up to 60 days. Why this touchiness when it comes to data on noise? In my view, if the extent of our vehicular noise problem was understood, it would be hard not to act sharply to curb it. Better to avoid data on this issue.

Here is the language about vehicular noise in Appleton's city code (§12-77): "The people have a right to an environment free from excessive sound that may jeopardize their health, welfare, or safety, or degrade the quality of life" and "It is the policy of the city to prevent noise that may jeopardize the health and welfare or safety of its citizens or degrade the quality of life..." The whole Stop the Noise effort is an effort to lay claim to that language of the city code, asking the city to live up to those statements.

For the life of me I don't know why the city doesn't embrace getting data about noise. This is not a matter of confusing "average decibel level" readings - nothing like that! I'm asking for something quite simple: how many extreme incidents of noise are occurring on a daily or nightly basis during the warm months? If we knew those numbers we could ask: Is it fair to ask some of our residents to live with this level of noise? Is this level of noise conducive to a thriving/growing downtown business district?

Let's stop talking about this problem in anecdotes and impressions and think about what the acceptable level of noise for residents might be. We need data.

In another post on noise I will talk about how this approach is modelled on the moves of Knoxville, TN in 2022, when facing a similar noise problem.

We have been silent on this page hoping for positive signs this spring regarding effective noise enforcement from APD. The past few days have been atrocious. Here is one promising angle being pursued by an Appleton alderperson.

We are now rumbling into the holiday season. I hope all readers had a joyful Thanksgiving with family and friends.

I expect that posting on this page will be a bit slower for the holiday month, but we wanted to get a note out on where things stand heading into winter.

The mayor released a formal letter about what the city is doing about vehicular noise. We are clearly in support of the efforts from the city and APD to give out more citations. Their primary approach appears to be centered on modified exhaust systems. The mayor and the city stopped well short of a coordinated campaign against noise, which was the goal we pressed for at the public forum. At the same time, we recognize that the pressure from our group has put this issue front and center for city leadership. I know from meetings I had on noise going back into 2024 that this issue would never have gotten this level of attention from the city if not for our activist campaign.

There have been many comments on this page and on the statements by the mayor. Our last post on noise enforcement had an engagement of >45k. One point that comes up repeatedly, and functions as a zombie argument, is something like this:

"It’s downtown Appleton… there’s gonna be noise🤣🤣"

All the people who have chosen to live downtown know and love its liveliness. We've expressed that many times. People love being able to walk to the farmers markets or to concerts during Mile of Music. People expect cars along College Ave. It appears to be difficult to imagine for some people who live at a distance, but the noise in the past few years has gotten out of hand and goes beyond what people should have to live with.

I struggle with the notion that anyone could respond to this real problem by saying: "well, those people should move away!" Such a response shows a lack of imagination as well as a profound lack of civic empathy. Follow out that logic to its impossible vision: these historic neighborhoods should be abandoned by anyone who doesn't like living with window rattling noise. These are long established and close-knit neighborhoods! These are the building blocks of a successful city!

Then add to this the continuing fact that the downtown is becoming home to more and more apartments. Right now 400+ residences have been built along College Ave, and hundreds more are on the way in the next two years. This is a choice the city is making based on its own development plans, and the result is that College Ave and its feeder streets must become livable spaces. The writing is on the wall in this regard.

Excessive vehicular noise is not an issue that is going away. The heated debate on our page--evident as well on the mayor's letter to the community--show that this issue cuts into real divisions in our community and American society, especially divisions that have opened up post Covid. It is our view that abandoning the field to claims of absolute liberty are not the path to livable communities or for preserving quality of life.

The notions we are defending were at one point widely and generally recognized within a curriculum of community civics. I have been browsing older textbooks on this topic. Here is one section near the opening of such a book, expressed in a fashion that makes it sound like this is hardly a point that could be debated:

"Another result [of community interdependence] is that it places certain restrictions upon our liberty... If any member of the community had absolute liberty to do as he pleased, he would soon interfere with the rights of others. Then what would become of the 'equality' which the Declaration proclaims? Equal liberty for all is the aim of democracy, and this can be obtained only when each acts with full regard for the rights of others."

Ours is a movement that is pressing for limitations on noise and aggressive driving when it credibly and clearly corrodes the quality of life of residents. This is an obvious task for the city to take up.

Glad to see a mayoral letter to the community on noise! This would never have happened without the pressure from our movement. But he continues to refuse to lead a coordinated campaign against noise..

Mayor Woodford has issued a community letter addressing concerns about excessive vehicle noise and outlining the City of Appleton’s enforcement approach and next steps.

👉Read the full community letter here:
http://appletonwi.gov/mayoral-statements

Appleton Police Department

The presence of small dirt bike style motorcycles on city streets and even sidewalks has become commonplace, and we're happy to see that the Appleton Police Department is addressing this more forcefully. Since last night three such bikes have been stopped and impounded.

We were also happy to see that excessive noise was listed as a public nuisance that will be ticketed by police (along with reckless riding and unsafe maneuvers). The following is from the FB post by the APD:

•Fleeing from police is a felony offense and will be investigated fully when riders intentionally avoid contact with officers attempting to make a traffic stop.
•Reckless riding, excessive noise, and unsafe maneuvers are considered public nuisances and may result in citations, vehicle impoundment, and further legal action.
•Community reports matter. If you see these vehicles being operated dangerously, please contact the Appleton Police Department’s non-emergency line, 920-832-5500.

APPLETON POLICE DEPARTMENT ADDRESSES DANGEROUS OPERATION OF MOTORIZED DIRT BIKES; THREE VEHICLES IMPOUNDED

(APPLETON, Wis., November 18,2025)—The Appleton Police Department is reminding our community that the unsafe and illegal operation of motorized dirt bikes and similar off-road style vehicles on city streets poses a significant risk to public safety. These vehicles are not designed for roadway use and often lack the required safety equipment, registration, and insurance needed to operate legally within the City of Appleton.

In the last year, officers have responded to an increase in complaints involving groups of individuals riding these vehicles recklessly through neighborhoods, business districts, and busy intersections. Many of these riders have fled from officers when attempts were made to conduct lawful traffic stops, and others have been involved in crashes resulting in injuries. Behaviors like this endangers not only the operators themselves, but also pedestrians, cyclists, and other motorists.

Since last night, the Appleton Police Department has stopped and impounded three motorized dirt-bike–style vehicles connected to ongoing nuisance and fleeing incidents. These enforcement actions are part of the department’s continuing effort to address this growing issue and maintain safety for everyone using our roadways.

The Appleton Police Department encourages the community to be aware of the following:

•Motorized dirt bikes, mini-bikes, electric motorcycles, and off-road vehicles are not street legal unless properly registered and equipped.

•Fleeing from police is a felony offense and will be investigated fully when riders intentionally avoid contact with officers attempting to make a traffic stop.

•Reckless riding, excessive noise, and unsafe maneuvers are considered public nuisances and may result in citations, vehicle impoundment, and further legal action.

•Community reports matter. If you see these vehicles being operated dangerously, please contact the Appleton Police Department’s non-emergency line, 920-832-5500.

The department will continue a zero-tolerance, targeted approach in areas where these incidents have been most common. Our goal is to reduce dangerous behavior, prevent injuries, and ensure Appleton’s streets remain safe and accessible for everyone.

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We get asked a lot about noise enforcement all around the city. Our overall goal is to turn down the noise and limit the aggressive driving everywhere. But it's worth thinking about how best to reach that goal. Downtown Appleton is the end point for a large percentage of extreme noisemakers, though of course they stream there along different routes (via east and west College Avenue, Richmond, Oneida, and John Street, among others). These routes come together at our downtown. If through active APD enforcement we could cut into the extreme noise in the downtown area, then Appleton as a whole would become less attractive as a destination and there would be fewer excessively loud cars heading down those arterial streets.

One necessary piece of a campaign against noise is to collect data on noise. Right now no one has any real data. I don't believe anywhere except downtown would hit on a normal evening 10+ examples of >90 decibel vehicles within an hour, which I personally recorded last summer on College Ave. Still, we need to develop a picture of where the noise is occurring within city limits. So along with immediate enforcement against excessive noise in the downtown, we are pushing for data gathering that would allow for the development of a map showing noise hotspots. Perhaps some of us could contribute to such a map in the spring and summer of next year by taking hour-long samples of decibel readings along different streets.

So just to make the strategy clear, I would summarize it as: start with enforcement downtown --> gather data about noise around the city --> apply lessons learned from downtown enforcement to other hot spots. If we are going to turn back the tide on excessive noise we have to play this smart and work together.