By Megan Wehring
KYLE — With a growing population of more than 50,000 residents, Kyle is looking at future roadway changes.
The Kyle City Council approved the updated Transportation Master Plan at its regular meeting July 6. Two freeway crossings, several arterial roads with six, four or two to three lanes, sidewalks and trails are proposed in the plan with the focus on connecting the city east and west of Interstate 35.
John Dean of CP&Y Inc., an engineering and architectural consulting firm, said the city is suffering from constrained right-of-ways and lack of connectivity across Kyle. The last plan was developed in 2015 and no longer meets the needs of the city.
“You are getting to a point where businesses and development are encumbering the right-of-way to a point where it’s going to be difficult to expand in the future as growth continues,” Dean said.
While the transportation plan is flexible and subject to change, city engineer Leon Barba said it’s important the city updates it every five years to keep up with growth.
“What this does is lock in the future roadway rights of way we need as we try to handle the future growth that is coming into Kyle,” Barba told the Hays Free Press/News-Dispatch. “We work with [property owners] to figure out what’s the best route. We don’t want to hurt them but we want to make sure we get the right-of-way to build roads there.”
There is no current timeline for the proposals listed in the Transportation Master Plan. To view the city of Kyle’s project overview, please visit https://www.cityofkyle.com/projects.
