Brittany Kelley
KYLE — Kyle City Council provided feedback for potential improvements to both Gregg-Clarke and Waterleaf parks at its Jan. 20 meeting, as part of the Parks and Recreation Open Space Master Plan.
“Gregg-Clarke Park is one of our most beloved parks and [is] highly utilized in the city of Kyle,” began Parks and Recreation director David Lopez. “It acts as a community hub; it’s a park for families. However, it is rapidly declining, due to lack of complementary design. Some poorly designed assets and assets at or beyond their useful life. Waterleaf Park also has much potential for additional trail access for recreational activities, outdoor education and conservation, but needs proper planning to ensure the optimal investment for optimized programming that services the community.”
According to project manager Bryan Janhsen of Freese and Nichols, Waterleaf Park had not had any substantive improvements since its opening in 2005. Though, since then, there was the upgraded playground installed in October 2025 and a parking lot planned for the near future.
This, along with the new all-wheels skatepark for Gregg-Clarke Park, is being considered when creating the concepts.
“The goal for this effort is to create a unifying aesthetic throughout both of these parks. We want them to be functional. We want them to maximize the programming at these parks and do it in a safe and accessible way,” explained Janhsen.
David Buchanan, landscape architect of Freese and Nichols, began the concepts by discussing site evaluation at Waterleaf. The park has been divided into four zones, he said — open nature area, forested area, open transition space and a future implementation of the Vybe Trail.
“Waterleaf is a bit unique and there’s a lot of underlying tones between both concepts,” said Buchanan.
The concepts are as follows:
Concept A: Nature and recreation
• Vybe Trail
• Internal park trails
• Soft surface/ natural trail
• Boardwalk
• Naturalized drainage channel
• Re-oriented baseball fields
• Parking
• Existing structures
• Existing playground
• Flex lawn space
Concept B: Nature and mountain bike
• Vybe Trail
• Beginner bike trail
• Intermediate bike trail
• Internal park trails
• Boardwalk
• Naturalized drainage channel
• Re-oriented baseball fields
• Parking
• Existing structure
• Existing playground
• Jump track
• Children’s pump track
• Main pump track
• Flex lawn space
• Soft surface/natural trail
“The big change [in Concept B] is there on that southeast corner, where we translate some of the open space to more of a mountain bike themed location,” said Buchanan. “You’ll see at these public engagement meetings, the want for a new programmatic item that may not exist too heavily within the city of Kyle be incorporated here at Waterleaf.”
Janhsen noted that, in December, two open houses were held, with more than 100 participants. Attendees were then asked their preferences of amenities and for any comments or concerns.
The overwhelming preference at these engagement sessions was Concept B, said Buchanan. Additionally, the top five amenities from residents were: an adult pump track, mountain biking, children’s pump track, jump track and a nature trail.
Council member Michael Tobias questioned whether the bikers and walkers would be on the same trails, similar to Town Lake in Austin. Lopez confirmed this and explained that they will need to have a trail system that is durable for mountain bikes, while also having signage for traffic rules.
Mayor Yvonne Flores-Cale requested that staff bring back specific acreage that will be used for each amenity, to give council a better understanding of the equity.
Additionally, she asked that more engagement be held to reach at least 500 responses, as the 100 people that attended only represent a small portion of the community.
Despite the low number, council member Claudia Zapata urged to not discredit those that did show up, as an amenity, such as a pump track that’s large enough to fit wheel chairs would be a great amenity to have.
Later, the mayor shared concerns regarding the amount of concrete in the concept.
“I think it’s going to be important for everybody on this dais to understand that we have a creek that runs through here and that’s Plum Creek,” said Flores-Cale. “We have to be really strategic as to not put too much impervious coverage over there because that’s also where our wastewater outlet is. So, we want to protect that at all costs.”
Moving onto the other park, Buchanan said that while Waterleaf was more condensed, Gregg-Clark Park had more opportunity.
“Hopefully throughout this conceptual study, we’ll begin to address [the disjointedness across the east and west] and really create a bit of cohesion. So, in addition to the existing conditions, we also want to talk briefly about opportunities for future [program] expansion … You’ll see that incorporated and rolled into both alternatives,” the landscape architect said.
The concepts for Gregg-Clarke Park are as follows:
Concept A: General lawn
• Park drive
• Internal park trails
• Little league fields
• Flex lawn space
• Naturalized drainage channel
• Basketball courts
• Tennis/pickleball courts
• Ash Pavilion
• Playground
• Central lawn
• Aquatic center
• Skate park
• Monument signage
• Parking
• Potential facilities expansion
Concept B: The meander
• Park drive
• Internal park trails
• Little league fields
• County property
• Naturalized drainage channel
• Basketball courts
• Tennis/pickleball courts
• Ash Pavilion
• Playground
• Central lawn
• Aquatic center
• Skate park
• Monument signage
• Parking
• Boardwalk
• Potential facilities expansion
“We feel like having a central lawn [will] help celebrate the site and bring those active community events to Gregg-Clarke. So, a lot of Concept A revolves around that,” said Buchanan, adding that it also focuses on sports. “What we wanted Concept B to do is really hone in and focus on the idea of re-envisioning what this creek could become and make it an important key component of the proposed improvements.”
After, council member Marc McKinney brought up the elimination of two baseball fields, which only adds to the lack of sports amenities within the city, Lopez explained that it was never safe to have those four fields against each other as they were. This is the reason for the change.
Tobias noted that, for Concept A, there needs to be trees to counter the high temperatures in the summer. There will instead be formal shading with pavilions, explained Buchanan.
Because the park was donated to the city from the Gregg family, Flores-Cale suggested adding monument signage.
Acknowledging the fact that the city has a national champion roller hockey team, council member Lauralee Harris wanted more enhancements for Ash Pavilion, including adding seating, for the draw that the facility brings.
She also advocated for a dog park, since the west side doesn’t have one, and for bringing a restaurant or sandwich shop instead of additional parking on Veterans Drive in Concept A. Rather than a permanent tenant, Lopez suggested a food truck park in the area.
Community members preferred Concept B and selected the aquatic center — by expanding the pool — internal park trails, central lawn, naturalized drainage channel and the playground as favorite amenities.
Regarding feedback, Tobias suggested doing a presentation to the Kyle Area Youth Advisory Council to get its input. Lopez noted that this was a reasonable ask and that they will work on this.
Zapata brought up that there needs to be work done on the site access for the neighborhoods across the street, as there are poor sidewalks, lighting and crosswalks. This will be addressed in an upcoming updated Trails Master Plan, said Lopez, as it will address the opportunity for connectivity in the area.
Finally, council discussed enlisting the Arts and Cultural Board to create signage advertising the park at Veterans Drive, since many are unaware of its location at that intersection.
The presentation timeline detailed that the final concepts, with feedback, will be shown to the Parks and Recreation Board Feb. 23 and will return to council March 17.
To listen to the discussion, visit bit.ly/4qGEWi8.
