Kyle voters approve of city’s transportation bond package

The City of Kyle will move forward with road improvements after voters passed a record  transportation bond package on Tuesday’s ballot.

“This is an historic step for the City of Kyle,” Mayor Travis Mitchell said. “Kyle voters made it clear they want us focused on improving traffic, safety, and mobility throughout the city. With the passage of Proposition A, we intend to honor the trust of the community and get to work on these projects."   

Interim City Manager Jerry Hendrix said he will convene engineers and planners as early as the coming week to begin work on implementing the bond package.

“Council knew this was an urgent issue for our residents and had the vision to put this bond package forward to the voters,” Hendrix said. “The City Council and staff have laid a strong planning foundation so we could respond quickly and efficiently to the results of the election — whatever they were. Now we're ready to get to work right away on these important projects for the City of Kyle.”   

The city said it will take time to begin the process of selling the bonds and acquiring right-of-way.

The city said in a news release following the bond’s approval that it intends to keep citizens involved every step of the way. Plans for public meetings where Kyle residents can express their opinions about roadway design are underway and updates about these projects will be on the city’s bond website, KyleBonds.com.

Proposition A called for $294.4 million to reconstruct, expand and upgrade specific roadways in the City of Kyle. It’s also expected that these roads will have a "positive impact on the quality of life for Kyle residents by facilitating the addition of amenities including restaurants, shopping, trails, and recreation," the city said, adding  that there are eight  roadway projects across the city totaling 10.3 miles of new roads, reconstruction, and widening projects to improve the city’s transportation network.

These projects will provide additional capacity to support current and future traffic needs, boost quality of life experiences through economic development, congestion reduce emergency response times, increase vehicular and pedestrian safety, and strengthen connections between the east and west sides of Kyle.

Election results

In the city’s race for Kyle City Council, District 1, Amanda Stark and Bear Heiser advanced to a run-off election after winning the most votes from a field of six.

Stark received the most votes with 3,120 (29.1%), while Heiser finished in second with 2,217 votes (20.68%).

Marc McKinney finished Tuesday’s election with 2,046 votes (19.09%), Marina Tupikov tallied 1,648 votes (15.37%), Nick Madsen amassed 1,082 votes (10.09%) and Neal Breen received 607 votes (5.66%).

In the election for Kyle City Council, District 3, challenger Miguel A. Zuniga defeated incumbent Robert Rizo with 5,717 votes to Rizo’s 5,044.

Votes are unofficial until canvassed on Tuesday, Nov. 15.