Right now, ATVs and UTVs are allowed on Rhinelander City Streets except Lincoln Street.
Rhinelander Mayor Kris Hanus said if allowing UTVs on Lincoln Street is something council wanted to do, now is a good time to consider it.
“Even though Lincoln Street won't be under construction all summer the bypass will and then you're going to have that additional traffic load of the bypass on Lincoln,” Hanus told the council. “There's one of the reasons why we brought it up now is if it takes a month or two to have discussion, do research, if you guys did want to add it, the recommendation would be to add it to first of the year. That way it still gives those clubs some time to remap it and get the word out.”
Lincoln Street is full of retail businesses, restaurants, and a hotel. It’s also four lanes and goes from 25 to 35 mph.
Rhinelander Police Chief Josh Chiamulera told council he wasn’t opposed to the idea but wanted more discussion on it.
Council President Carrie Mikalauski said opening Lincoln Street to UTVs would give people staying at hotels around the city more opportunities.
“If they want to dine anywhere on Lincoln Street, there is no way for them, if they're on UTVs, to get to any place on Lincoln Street,” said Mikalauski. “The trails don't go through there, and even the back sides of them don't link up to those restaurants and such.”
Alderperson Steven Jopek was primarily concerned with safety on such a busy street.
“I do think a little bit more investigation on this is necessary for us to do our due diligence,” said Jopek.
One thought in opening Lincoln Street to just UTVs as opposed to ATVs and UTVs is that UTVs appear safer. They have features like roll cages and seat belts.
The Wisconsin DNR tracks fatal ATV/UTV incidents.
In 2025, there were 41 deadly ATV/UTV accidents statewide. More than a dozen were on public roads, about half of which were of people in UTVs. In almost all the cases, safety features like helmets or seat belts were not used.
WXPR reviewed the DNR’s ATV/UTV crash incident reports going back to 2019. There were no fatal crashes reported in Rhinelander.
Council does plan to put the issue on a future agenda once they have more information about things like what kind of ATV/UTV accidents does the city already see and which Lincoln Street business can’t be reached right now by ATV/UTVs via side streets.
