Kyle Hoping to be the Next Round Rock

Everyone knows that Lago Vista is the next Lakeway. Less well known is that the City of Kyle has commissioned TIP Strategies, Inc. to help turn Kyle into the next Round Rock. TIP has released their recommendations - commuter rail is featured somewhat prominently in the Project Overview and the presentation, but in the actual plan (large file - it's boring, but it's long), rail barely gets mentioned. Even when it does, it is only to say that at-grade overpasses are annoying to drivers and any future commuter rail stop should be positioned at the northern edge of town (at the center of the proposed "new downtown"). The remaining 99% of the plan boils down to "Kyle needs more roads and wider roads."

If this plan is implemented, Kyle is going to lose what charm and vitality it has left. More, wider roads are not going to help traffic (especially when combined with more single family housing, office parks and strip malls). Placing the commuter rail station on a greenfield next to the golf course would be a huge mistake. The entire idea in the economic development plan of building a "new downtown" is terrible. PUT THE RAIL STATION ON CENTER STREET. The old rail station (shown above) - the one that looks so quaint on the front page of the transportation plan - is there for a reason. Revitalize the real downtown Kyle. You aren't going to be able to build a better downtown from scratch. Create a VMU ordinance and urban-style design regulations. Kyle can be better than the next Round Rock.

Image from City-Data.com

Contact the author of this article or email tips@austinist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Shawn Shillington in News on April 30, 2007 12:19 PM 0 Comments

Comments [rss]

Sean Garretson

I wanted to clarify that the plan that the original article mentions is a transportation plan that was developed by LAN engineering. The Economic Development Plan has not been developed yet, but should be complete within the next month or two. In the meantime, we have a website where previous presentations have been posted: www.tipstrategies.com/kyle

M1EK

Time to gloom it up once again I see.

There will never be commuter rail in Kyle, for reasonable definitions of "never". UP will require so much money to move, and we're never going to be willing to pay it; and even if we were, it's a decades-out project.

And then, after spending billion or so building UP some new tracks east of town, what do we have? A rail car which goes up across the river to Seaholm but can't (ever!) continue into downtown, UT, or the Capitol. So it's hop off the train and on to the stuck-in-traffic shuttlebus. Yay. That'll sure be compelling enough to pull the drivers out of their cars.

Stephen

I live in Kyle and am moving out as soon as possible. It was OK when I moved here a year ago, but now it's just getting to be too much. Plus, the Homeowners Assoc is a pain :)