Stop the Noise Appleton

11/30/2025

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.

11/25/2025

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

11/19/2025

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.

# # #

11/16/2025

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.

10/19/2025

Sharing Appleton Police Department post from 2023. This sure hasn’t aged well. Has this situation improved or gotten worse? Has there been an increase in enforcement? We’d say no. City of Appleton Government can do better and citizens want more enforcement. It’s loud and clear that more needs to be done! It’s time to end VANITY NOISE!

Wisconsin’s muffler laws play a crucial role in maintaining peaceful neighborhoods, reducing noise pollution, and promoting safer streets. A well-maintained muffler system helps prevent accidents and increases situational awareness by allowing other drivers and pedestrians to hear approaching vehicles more clearly. 🔊👂

Section 347.39 of the Wisconsin State Statutes reads in part, “No person shall operate on a highway any motor vehicle subject to registration unless such motor vehicle is equipped with an adequate muffler in constant operation and properly maintained to prevent any excessive or unusual noise or annoying smoke.”

Let's be responsible vehicle owners and advocates for a quieter, safer, and cleaner world. Together, we can enjoy the benefits of reduced noise pollution, improved road safety, and a more peaceful community for all! 🚗🌳☀

10/04/2025

We’ve just reached 500 followers! Thank you for continuing support. We could never have made it without each one of you. Together we will help make a positive impact in our community.
🙏🤗🎉
We would also like to thank Appleton Police Department and City of Appleton Government for the increased efforts with enforcement of the noise ordinance. We look forward to being able to share data regarding enforcement and citations.

09/27/2025

Props to all the amazing vehicles and car enthusiasts at License to Cruise!!!
You guys put on an amazing event each year and we all appreciate the hard work that goes into it. City of Appleton Government and Appleton Police Department well done also! 🙌🏼

It is truly appreciated how the true car enthusiasts (license to cruise participants) leave the area respectfully and don’t create excessive noise. ✌🏼🙌🏼👏🏼🥰🙏

It was soooo quiet with the Avenue closed off all night. Not that we’d ever want that permanent, but what a nice reprieve from the usual Friday night noise ordinance violators.

What were some of your favorite vehicles from last night and how was your experience?

09/20/2025

Thank you WBAY TV-2 for reporting on this excessive noise issue in the Fox Valley and Downtown Appleton. Citizens are sick and tired of this disrespectful behavior and also the reckless driving. We also want to state that this group IS NOT against cruising the Ave, vehicle enthusiast, hobbiest, group bike rides, and or people enjoying their prized builds. We love that and by all means do it! What we and the citizens in these areas are against is the violators deliberately creating excessive noise with their vehicles. This isn’t your typical Mom and Pop’s type cruising thats been going on forever downtown. This current behavior has increasingly gotten worse over the past four years and the exhaust systems that are used on most of the vehicles are illegal and much louder than before. Stop the Noise or pay the price man.

We encourage you to call the police department anytime there’s excessive noise or reckless driving in and around where you are. The Appleton Police Department and City of Appleton Government have made a commitment to enforce the laws that are already in place. Thank you for your support.

For some downtown Appleton residents, the noise they’re hearing downtown is getting to be too much.

09/18/2025

Last night Fox11 ran another story about the excessive noise in Appleton. This time they interviewed Mayor Woodford. We are encouraged that the mayor is saying that he takes this issue seriously and will work on it. We will continue to ask for data about this enforcement and present that data to this community. We believe that tackling this problem will necessitate a campaign that brings together noise enforcement with signage and data collection. But we are glad that our voice for change has been recognized.

Excessive noise from vehicles has become a problem in downtown Appleton, drawing attention from an advocacy group and now, the mayor's office.