Watertown Parks and Open Space Plan

HKGi developed a new Parks and Open Space Plan for the City of Watertown to help guide future investments and improvements to the community’s parks and open space system. The plan was developed to comply with WDNR guidelines and will enable the city to qualify for WDNR grant funding.

For the plan, HKGi staff conducted an inventory of all the city’s parks, recreational facilities, and city-owned and -managed open spaces. A geographical needs analysis identified which areas of Watertown are underserved by parks, while benchmarking against national park and recreation standards revealed that Watertown is well-equipped with parks and programs in most categories but is below standards in a few areas such as staffing. The inventory and needs analysis, coupled with online and in-person input from community members, helped the HKGi team and city staff identify four goals and associated objectives to guide long-term implementation of the Plan.

Key recommendations include identifying search areas for new park development and establishing strategies to assist in playground improvements and expansion of inclusive playground options.