Appleton moves to draw a two-block smoke-free zone around library, Valley Transit Center

APPLETON — With the opening of the new $40.4 million Appleton Public Library just months away, city officials have moved to combine the entire library block and the entire Valley Transit Center block into a smoke-free campus.

Smoking already is banned inside the library, within 20 feet of the entrance and on the walkway leading to the entrance, but the ban doesn't cover the entirety of the library property or the adjacent sidewalks.

"Right now there's no smoking on the Transit property, and that pushes the smoking onto the adjacent public rights of way," Mayor Jake Woodford told The Post-Crescent.

The Board of Health on Wednesday unanimously supported the expanded smoke-free zone. The Common Council will consider the change next week.

Health Officer Charles Sepers said in a memorandum to the board and council that exposure to secondhand smoke is strongly linked to the development of chronic diseases, including cancer, worsened allergies and childhood asthma. It also causes long-term respiratory and cardiovascular damage.

"There is no risk-free level of exposure," he said.

Expanding the no-smoking zone would contribute to a cleaner, healthier environment for visitors and reduce the risk of smoking-related illness, Sepers said.

The ban also would discourage people from gathering in areas where vehicles enter and exit the library parking lot.

Occupants of moving vehicles traveling on North Oneida Street between Franklin and Washington streets would be exempt from the ban.

Smoking is prohibited in the nearby Yellow Parking Ramp , unless on the top floor and at least 20 feet from the entryway, but would continue to be allowed on the sidewalks bordering the ramp.

The sidewalk in front of the ramp on Washington Street is used as a smoking area for people waiting for Valley Transit buses due to the smoking ban on the Valley Transit block.

"Folks smoking at that corner are in compliance with the current ordinance," Sepers said.

Contact Duke Behnke at 920-993-7176 or dbehnke@gannett.com . Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, at @DukeBehnke .

This article originally appeared on Appleton Post-Crescent: Appleton moves to draw a two-block smoke-free zone around library, Valley Transit Center