At its April 15 meeting, Kyle City Council reviewed the results of the 2025 Community Survey conducted by ETC Institute. The survey offered insight into how residents view life in Kyle, highlighting high satisfaction in safety services and ongoing concerns with transportation, infrastructure and city development.
The details
The city mailed surveys to a random sample of households, receiving 504 completed responses, according to the city council presentation. The survey assessed resident perceptions of Kyle, satisfaction with city services, and priorities for future investment.
Overall, perceptions of the city remain positive. According to ETC Institute’s presentation, Kyle performed above Texas and national averages in most quality-of-life categories. However, the city ranked below the Texas average as a place to work and retire, something ETC attributed to Kyle’s location between major metropolitan areas.
Also of note
Kyle residents were also surveyed regarding feelings of safety. Kyle received high marks in public safety, with residents rating the city well above Texas and national averages in all general safety categories, according to the city council presentation.
Kyle residents were also surveyed about satisfaction with police services. More than half of Kyle residents reported satisfaction in six out of 10 areas related to police services, according to the survey. Overall, the city scored above both Texas and national averages in most public safety categories.
However, residents expressed concern about the visibility of police in both neighborhoods and commercial areas—two categories where Kyle fell below average. The city also ranked above the Texas average but below the national average in areas such as enforcement of traffic laws and efforts by city government to prevent crime, according to the city council presentation.
Council member Robert Rizo noted that some neighborhood patrols occur while residents are at work or asleep, which may explain why many feel they rarely see police in their neighborhoods.
ETC Institute identified the following areas as priorities for improvement:
- Visibility of police in neighborhoods
- Efforts by city government to prevent crime
- Visibility of police in commercial and retail areas
- Enforcement of traffic laws
- Efforts of city’s police department to collaborate with the public to address concerns
- How quickly police respond to emergencies
The survey also asked Kyle residents about transportation, which revealed some challenges.
Only the condition of street signs received over 50% satisfaction. Categories with more than 30% dissatisfaction include:
- Street lighting
- Signal timing
- Sidewalk condition
- Street condition
Despite these concerns, the presentation states that most residents do not want more streets built. Instead, they favor increasing the capacity of existing roads to reduce traffic congestion.
Council member Laurelee Harris said the areas where the council ranks lower are already priority areas that the city is actively working on, meaning that the city’s planning is right on point.
“The roads—we are so aware that we need better roads,” Harris said. “But we’ve got this huge bond project that is coming online right now.”
Hays County voters approved a $440 million bond project in the November 2024 election, which includes multiple projects in Kyle that aim to improve mobility, according to previous Community Impact reporting.
Digging deeper
The survey also aimed to gain input on how satisfied residents are with certain major categories of services. Residents reported satisfaction in 9 out of 16 major service areas, according to the city council presentation. However, four areas stood out as needing attention:
- Water and wastewater infrastructure
- Sidewalk maintenance and connectivity
- Development services
- Streets and transportation
Based on the results, ETC recommended focusing on the following areas:
- Streets and transportation
- Water and wastewater infrastructure
- Development services
- Economic development
- Police and public safety
- Sidewalk maintenance and connectivity
City Manager Bryan Langley said that the survey will be an important tool as city staff approach budgeting season and can better understand what areas need to be improved.
“It’s an important report for us as we prepare the budget,” Langley said. “We’ll be talking about some of these areas where we’re deficient and how we can try to improve in those areas.”
