Aug. 25, 2025
VIROQUA, Wis. – A disagreement over the Center Avenue reconstruction plan and parking changes near Nelson Agri-Center bubbled up at the City of Viroqua Public Works Committee last week, with a potential compromise headed for discussion at the city council this week. The street is slated for a complete overhaul from Vernon Memorial Hospital (South Street) to just past Nelson Agri-Center (Parkinson Street) beginning this fall.
Construction will be completed in phases with the portion north of Decker Street (to Parkinson) starting this fall and the portion south of Decker Street (to South Street) starting in the spring.
Phase 1 (September 2025)
- Center Avenue (Parkinson St to Decker St)
- Jefferson Street (Main St to Rusk Ave)
- Winter pause (weather-dependent)
Phase 2 (April 2026)
- Center Avenue (Decker St to South St)
- One block of Court Street off Main St
- Terhune Street (Main St to Washington Ave)
Summer 2026
- Final paving, striping, boulevard tree plantings and site restoration
The city, through a number of meetings, including meetings with residents, has said the project is needed for many reasons including upsizing undersized water mains to improve water quality and increase fire-flow capacity, removing lead joints and galvanized services, eliminating dead ends, replacing aging sanitary sewer mains, manholes and laterals to stop groundwater infiltration, boost system capacity and safeguards local waterways. The project will also improve storm water management and capacity, including chronic drainage issues in blocks that currently lack adequate infrastructure. The project will also improve accessibility and mobility with ADA-compliant sidewalks, ramps and the new multi-use path will support pedestrians, cyclists and mobility devices.
The project will also include some downtown streetscape enhancements including conflicting boulevard trees and six decorative streetlights (four on East Jefferson, two on East Court) will be replaced, with DarkSky compliant streetlights being considered.
However, not everyone is completely on board with all the changes. Jacob Kanis, one of the co-owners of Nelson Agri-Center, attended the Aug. 19 Public Works Committee meeting and raised some of his businesses concerns with the plans. Kanis said he understands the goal of the city is to get the street up to standards with curb and gutter and designated sidewalks (which are not there now) but he is concerned the overall outcome for his business will be less parking and increased congestion with a narrower street.
Kanis raised several concerns about the current design for the project including:
Loss of parking for customers and business operations.
As the plan is designed now Nelson Agri-Center will lose five parking spaces at the west end of their main building. Those parking spaces are just off the feed counter door and would be eliminated so the city can install curb and gutter along that portion of the street for storm water management. Kanis said that parking is already tight, and losing these stalls would negatively impact business operations and customer convenience.
Narrowing of the street and traffic flow issues.
Kanis said he is also concerned that the plan narrows the street by putting curb and gutter with sidewalk on both sides of the street and includes parking on both sides of the street. Kanis said that will result in the actual driving lanes being much narrower because the parked cars will no longer be able to park on the outer perimeter of the right-of-way due to the curb being there. Kanis said that will make it very difficult for semis that regularly use Center Avenue for deliveries to make the turn onto the street.
Kanis said that the current parking and street configuration, while unconventional, has worked for decades without major incidents. He expressed frustration that the proposed changes prioritize pedestrian and city planning goals over the practical needs of his business and customers. He said the lack and gutter there now allows their customers overflow parking areas that utilized on especially busy days, especially for customers that are pulling trailers.
Kanis asked the committee and the city to consider letting their business keep the five parking stalls and if gthe city has to eliminate the on-street parking that they do so on the west side of Center Avenue to keep the usable area of the street as wide as possible. He also asked if there has to be curb and gutter for storm water management that it be a drive over type design.
Kanis showed the committee a number of slides demonstrate some traffic flow scenarios that they tested using vehicles with the proposed design parameters.
“We parked two trucks out there to simulate the new design, and you couldn’t get a third vehicle through,” said Kanis. “That’s not hypothetical, it’s what we saw.”
Kanis also presented a slide of what is might look like for a semi to try to make the turn from Decker Street onto Central Avenue once the changes are in place.
“If you put parking on both sides, a semi can’t make that turn,” said Kanis. “It’s not even close.”
And Kanis said once construction is complete, fixing congestion issues after the fact would be difficult and costly. He feared the city might eventually resort to removing parking on one side—a solution he hoped to avoid by addressing the issue proactively.
Design considerations
City Engineer Sarah Grainger and Matt Muchow with the engineering firm Vierbicher that helped design the project, said they were open to changes but there is a need to balance storm water management and public safety with the needs of the businesses along the street.
Muchow and Grainger said there were some design considerations to keep in mind with the project:
1. Unique right-of-way challenges: Muchow said the building and parking stalls at Nelson’s Agri-Center extend into the public right-of-way 11 feet and 5 feet respectively. Making standard design approaches difficult. This encroachment creates a “pinch point” that complicates safe pedestrian and vehicle movement.
2. Defined drive lanes and pedestrian zones: The current street lacks curbs, so vehicles, pedestrians, and loading zones all blend together. The proposed design introduces curbs and sidewalks to clearly separate traffic from pedestrian areas, improving safety and organization.
3. Improved turning movements: The design widens the road slightly at key intersections (e.g., Decker Street), which should improve turning radius for large vehicles like semis. While tight, the proposed 37-foot width is actually wider than some existing sections and meets common standards.
4. Parking considerations: Muchow said while informal parking occurs now, it’s not marked or regulated, which leads to unpredictable congestion. He explained that formal parking spots require adequate spacing from driveways (typically 3–5 feet) for visibility and maneuverability. Muchow and Grainger said they were willing to consider preserving the five east-side stalls using a valley gutter or drive-over curb to maintain drainage while allowing access.
5. Engineering standards and precedents: The proposed 38-foot street width is consistent with DOT standards. Muchow emphasized that while the current layout “works,” it doesn’t meet any formal engineering guidelines and poses long-term risks.
6. Multi-use path integration. The west side will include an 8-foot multi-use path, separated by a narrow terrace, to support pedestrian and cyclist traffic.
“It’s always a really fine balance when we look at all of the work that we’re trying to lay out as stewards of the public right-of-way,” said Grainger. “We want to make sure businesses are addressed, but we also need to look at the safety of pedestrians and bicyclists, water flow—those are the kinds of things that we look at when we’re doing it. Curbs are good because they provide drainage control, they provide protection to pedestrians, and define roads. Leaving things as is means that we’re losing our ability to use the right-of-way how it’s intended—with sidewalk and boulevard. Even if it wasn’t a formal sidewalk, people are still going to walk there. And it gives like a barrier, right?”
Several committee members expressed a desire to allow Nelson’s to keep the five parking stalls since they have been there for many years with few or any problems and to look at alternative layouts for curb in that area.
City Administrator Nate Torres said one of the reasons the sidewalks were included throughout the block was because the city council and the city in general has made it point of emphasis to focus on pedestrian connectivity throughout the city. Torres also said the design can be adjusted and after talking to all the parties involved, any compromise will likely balance the needs to the community with the needs of the businesses.
I think what we’re trying to achieve here is balance, right?” said Torres. “What is the correct balance right now? The balance seems to be on this particular block, everything for Nelson’s right? Like park you park incorrectly on the west side of the street, however you need to so you can get access to Nelson’s. And what we’re trying to do is tip the balance a little bit back, not just for Nelson’s or the customers of Nelson’s, but for people who are using that roadway in a different way.”
Torres suggested the city and the engineers rework the design to come up with some potential changes that meets everyone’s needs.
“When you look at that west side after the curb goes in, very few actual parking spots will exist for them to use,” said Torres. “And my understanding was, is if you just made that block no parking, you could still allow the five parking spots that are right up against there accommodate sidewalk and still have enough through space for all traffic to make it, which would reduce the congestion issue, right? So I think there is an opportunity for a balancer from what I’ve heard, and it’s just sort of trying to tip the scales a little bit more similar to what we did in Main Street, where you’re trying to find a way for pedestrian pedestrians to have sort of an equal opportunity to use the right way.”
Alderperson Kristal Welter made a motion to leave the five spaces and remove the parking spots on the west side.
Kanis expressed concern about that approach.
“Even there’s only one official spot on the west side (currently) the usage has been much greater than that in the past,” said Kanis. “So it still results in us losing convenient parking. If you’re going to make no parking on this block on one side, my question is the next block along the lumber shed, what you’re going to do there? Because that is slated to be parking on both sides, I believe. And all of our semis exit our property to the north onto Parkinson, swing to the west and come back up Center Street. But we’re still going to have the bottleneck issue with parking on both sides in that in the next block as well. While it’s not as tight, it’s still slated to only be 38 feet.”
Grainger suggested trying to parking and if needed making changes later.
“We have that situation all over town, right?” said Grainger. “And it’s about seeing how the traffic flows. I wouldn’t go and suggest that you should remove parking from that section until we see that there is a congestion problem. I mean, you’re showing us that there’s a lot of parking there right now on this block. I think we need to see how it goes and see if there’s congestion there. I wouldn’t want to just restrict something without knowing how it looks in the scenarios that we have.”
Alderperson Todd Kirking said he would be open to allowing Nelson’s to keeping the five parking spots and would consider alternative layouts for curb and gutter.
Kirking pointed out that the east side of Center Avenue currently lacks a continuous sidewalk and questioned the logic of adding one in a block that doesn’t connect to a broader pedestrian network.
“It’s been there for 71 years,” said Kirking. “They haven’t had no accidents with them parking, so you would take them five parking stalls away?”
Kirking also pointed out that the city agreed to close off the end of Center Street entirely for the Viroqua Food Cooperative.
Alderperson A.J. Bergu said he is open to allowing Nelson’s to keep their five existing parking spots but also had concerns about pedestrian safety.
“We’ve listened to concerns, and we’re not trying to steamroll anyone,” said Bergum. “This is about making the street work better for more people. I get that it’s been this way for decades, but that doesn’t mean it’s the best way moving forward. We’re trying to make it more walkable and safer for everyone, especially kids and older folks.”
Alderperson Seth McClurg said he understands the safety issues but is concerned about impacting a major business, and there has not been a problem with accidents.
We’re trying to make it more walkable and safer for everyone, especially kids and older folks.”
“I’m all for making things safer, but it has to be done in a way that doesn’t disrupt what’s already working,” said McClurg. “We need to make sure we’re not cutting off access to storefronts that rely on street parking. That’s part of what keeps downtown alive. People need to feel like they’re being heard. This isn’t just about traffic flow—it’s about how we live and move through our town.’
The committee passed the motion to send the revised plan to the full city council who will take the issue up at their regular meeting in Tuesday, Aug. 26 at 6:30 p.m.
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