Whitewater, Wisconsin Extends Late-Night ATV and UTV Street Hours

Riders in Whitewater, Wisconsin, will soon get an extra hour on the street. On Sept. 15, the Whitewater Common Council took up an amendment to Ordinance 2026-O-22, which governs Section 11.45 covering the operation of all-terrain vehicles and utility terrain vehicles in the city. Under the current rule, ATVs and UTVs are barred from city streets between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. The council moved to push that cutoff back, giving riders legal road access later into the night.

The change did not come easy. The Public Works Committee had recommended, on a 2-1 vote, extending the operating window to midnight. "The Public Works Committee recommended on a vote of 2-1 to change the non-operating hours from 10 o'clock p.m. to 5 o'clock a.m. to midnight and 5 o'clock a.m.," Public Works Director Brad Marquardt told the council.

Before any vote, the board heard from residents who did not want the hours extended at all. Their main concern was noise. "I would really like you to not make it later than 10 o'clock because in neighborhoods, including my neighborhood, we have quite a few really loud, really obnoxious ATVs," resident Sherry Stanek said. "They have no respect for anybody and they have no problem doing it for hours. So, I think 10 o'clock is already plenty of time."

After debate and several proposed amendments, the council settled on a compromise. District 5 Alderman Neil Hicks put forward an amendment to move the cutoff to 11 p.m. rather than midnight, a single hour later than the current rule. "I would make an amendment to change operation hours from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. and see if that one hour makes any difference, either good or bad," Hicks said. "Then we can always readdress or look at it again next year if we want to adjust it."

Hicks pointed to real situations that keep riders out late, including nights after football games and cleanup work following Fourth of July events over the summer. The board landed on the 11 p.m. agreement after Chief of Police Daniel Meyer and another official said they had no concern with the change. They also assured the public that the council can revisit the ordinance if the 11 p.m. time does not work out.

What this means for local riders is straightforward. Once the amended ordinance takes effect, you can legally run an ATV or UTV on Whitewater streets until 11 p.m., an hour later than before. The cutoff remains firm at that point, and the morning restriction still runs until 5 a.m. Riders who push past the new limit are back in violation, so the extra hour is the whole of the change for now.

The council also handled a separate matter over polling locations. During the Aug. 18 meeting, an agenda item had been worded to consolidate the city's polling sites down to just the Armory, which drew heavy community attention. At the Sept. 15 meeting, that was revised to add a polling location at the UW-Whitewater campus for the August election. At-Large Council Member Orin Smith noted the low number of staff on campus during August, and other members raised concerns about students being counted. District 3 Alderman Steven Sahyun said there was no data on how many potential voters would be hurt by dropping campus polling for August elections. After deliberation and citizen comments, the council voted to take no immediate action.

The Sept. 15 meeting recording, agenda, and packets are posted on the city's website. The council was set to hold a joint meeting with the Plan and Architectural Review Commission on Sept. 24 at 6 p.m. in the Municipal Building.