Committee of the Whole Meeting | The City of Watertown | January 20, 2026

The City of Watertown held a Committee of the Whole meeting on January 20, 2026, focused on a detailed presentation and discussion regarding the potential conversion of downtown one-way streets to two-way operations. The engineering division, with consultant RA Smith, presented traffic studies, feasibility assessments, and design options for converting Third and Fourth Streets to two-way traffic in coordination with the Wisconsin Department of Transportation's 2028 Main Street reconstruction project. The discussion included traffic volume data, crash analysis, parking studies, and operational impacts of various left-turn lane configurations. Cost estimates for the conversion ranged from $175,000 to $225,000, covering pavement markings, signage, and temporary traffic control, with signal work included in the state project budget. The committee considered pedestrian and bicycle accommodations, parking impacts, and the timing of conversions to coincide with the Main Street reconstruction. No formal vote was recorded in the transcript, but there was support expressed for option one from business owners and Main Street stakeholders. Further detailed design and block-by-block evaluations were recommended for the remaining one-way streets.