Council may vote on bridge, other changes to transportation plan

City Engineer Leon Barba said today the proposed "updates" to the city’s Transportation Master Plan he intends to outline to the city council Wednesday night not only include a much-discussed $30 million bridge across the Blanco River but a link from the southern tip of Rebel Road to I35 that could include an underpass or an overpass at the railroad tracks near West First Street. He also said it is expected that developers could bear all the costs of the projects.

Barba confirmed that, as of this moment, these are plans only — no time lines have been set for any of these projects nor have any priorities been assigned to these five proposed amendments.

"A very rough estimate was provided for the Blanco Bridge of $30 million," Barba said. "Estimates have not been prepared for any of the other amendments. Funding has not been identified for any of these projects. These projects will probably be developer driven, so the expectation will be they pay for all of the costs unless other agreements are made."

As simply as I can make it, the five changes proposed for the plan that was last updated on the Ides of March last year are:

1. A bridge over the Blanco River that, on the aerial photo submitted as part of the agenda package, truly does look like a Bridge to Nowhere, but is planned to connect Cypress Road to a major development still in its infancy on the west side of the Blanco. This idea appears simple and straightforward: It would serve much the same purpose as the Bay Bridge does in connecting San Francisco to Berkeley/Oakland and the rest of Northern California.

"We have a contractual requirement to place this on our transportation plan based on the development agreement that was approved by City Council on May 3, 2016," Barba said.

2. A significant, albeit what appears to be a less expensive, change in the plans for the eastward expansion of Kyle Parkway. Instead of extending it directly to that point on Goforth Road where its meets Cotton Gin Road (Highway 129), the change has it doing a dogleg south so that it runs just west of and parallel to Onyx Lake Drive to Bunton. The change appears to cut the length of the extension in half and eliminate the need to find a way to traverse the reservoir just south of Covent Drive. In fact, Barba confirmed the location of the reservoir was a prime motivator in recommending this change.

"We are proposing a new route for the extension of Kyle Parkway, east of Dacy Lane, due to the fact that we will not be able to build any type of structure in the area of the reservoir," Barba said.

3. An extension of Rebel Road that appears to bypass Scott Street to the west ever so slightly before joining West First Street which eventually will be extended all the way to I-35,  meaning, of course, an additional railroad crossing of some sort on the south side of town.

"The intent is to provide another connection to I35 with the possibility of providing an underpass/overpass across the railroad tracks," Barba said.

4. A road connecting Bebee to Kyle Parkway that appears in the photos provided to barely skirt the eastern side of Lowes and Walgreen’s.

"The proposed route would provide a direct connection for any proposed development on the north side of Bunton Branch," Barba explained.

5. An extension of Seton Parkway that’s south of Kyle Parkway southward about a tenth of a mile before it takes a 90-degree turn east to Philomena.

"Seton Parkway, by Goodwill, is currently a dead end," Barba acknowledged. "As development begins south of the dead end, the intent is to provide a connection to the new section of Philomena."

The city engineer stressed he could go into much more detail on each of these proposed changes at tomorrow night’s council meeting which was moved from its usual Tuesday evening time to avoid a conflict with tonight’s National Night Out. The aforementioned aerial depictions of he proposed changes can be found by accessing the link provided at the bottom of this page. There is no public hearing attached to this item so any citizen who would like to address one or more of these changes must do so during the Citizens Comment period listed on this agenda.

There is, however, a public hearing attached to another item on the agenda — one to create an Office/Institutional zoning category in Kyle.

"The highest rated need for new land uses for the city of Kyle, as identified in the Economic Development Strategic Plan, is additional, local employment opportunities for our residents," Planning/Community Development Director Howard J. Koontz wrote in a memo to council members. "Currently, most of Kyle’s land area falls into three categories: agriculture uses, residential uses, and retail commercial uses. One missing component is employment uses, to keep our population local throughout the course of the day. The introduction of the Office/Institutional category creates a district where professional businesses would be most likely to locate, without the unintended consequence of objectionable outdoor storage, or nuisances like dust, vibration or noise.

"The new district … has been created as an appropriate location for employment centers, and those activity uses of the community that aren’t necessarily centered on retail purchases of goods and/or services, "Koontz added.

Other noteworthy items on Wednesday’s agenda include:

• An item that appears to be missing an essential ingredient. Agenda item 16 reads: "Consider a resolution of the City of Kyle, Texas, submitting nomination(s) to the Hays Central Appraisal District Chief Appraiser for election as a member the 2018-19 Hays Central Appraisal District Board of Directors." OK, then the resolution reads, in part, "The mayor and city council do hereby submit, in accordance with the provisions of the applicable law, the following nomination(s) for candidate(s) for each position to be filled for the 2018-19 Hays Central Appraisal District Board of Directors:" And then there’s a blank. No names are included in the resolution. I guess we’re supposed to wait until tomorrow night’s "Big Reveal" to learn whose being nominated. But then the item didn’t specify the council should "consider" the nominations — obviously there might not be enough time for that before the "Big Reveal" — but only to "consider a resolution." So there’s that.
• The reappointment of three individuals — Dex Ellison, Timothy Kay and Jo Fenety — to the Planning & Zoning Commission as well as three others — Tony Spano, head of land acquisition and development at Bigelow Homes; Neal Kelly, vice president and COO of Seton Medical Center; and Harish Malkani, CEO and president of R.S.I. — to the Economic Development & Tourism Board.