GREEN BAY, Wis. (WFRV) – The Appleton Captain of Investigations and Support Services, Mike Wallace, stopped by the Local 5 studio on Thursday to discuss complaints around school zones, benefits from the potential lane change of College Avenue, and Appleton’s new bike registration program.

Captain Mike Wallace says there has been an increase in complaints about speeding and double parking in school zones. He says the Appleton Police department intends to start focusing more on these violations as a way to keep students and crossing guards safe.

Drivers can and will get fined for these violations. Parking violations start at $40 and speeding violations in a school zone start at $175.

CAPT. Wallace then transitions into talking about the potential lane changes coming to College Avenue. He says the plan is to run an 18-month pilot program that will turn part of College Ave. into a 3-lane road with one lane going either direction and then a center-turning lane.

CAPT. Wallace continues to say that this will slow down the speed of drivers, reduce the noise of traffic in the area, and make it easier to turn left off of the street. He states that the plan still awaits council approval.

As for Appleton’s new bike registration program, he says this is an effort to help fight the theft of bicycles around the city. The serial number on the bike is a big part of identifying and returning bikes to their rightful owners.

Without the serial number, the process of returning a bike is reportedly very difficult. The registration program will use the bike’s serial number and the name of the owner to easily identify who the bike belongs to.

The registration program, while not required to use a bike in the city, is extremely recommended just in case anything were to happen.