The results are in from Austin’s comprehensive plan survey that city officials made public to provide the planning committee with a guide to future development.

Now the committee is looking to keep the discussion going. The committee will next host two workshops on Tuesday: A morning session will be from 7:30 to 9 a.m. at the Austin Artworks Center on the second floor, and an evening session will be from 4 to 6 p.m. at Riverland Community College in the Austin West Campus, room A106.

There will also be a Spanish interpreter there.

Austin’s comprehensive plan will help guide discussions and decisions for land use, physical, social and economic development in the city’s future years. The plans are usually renewed every 10 to 15 years.

Survey questions ranged from broad topics such as asking residents to list three words that best described Austin, to specific topics like if they used the parks and trails system, with 70 percent of people saying they use them monthly.

Planning and Zoning Administrator Holly Wallace said the survey helped them reach populations they don’t normally reach.

“The results were broad, but it’s what people were thinking about,” Wallace said.

Other questions asked about which transportation do people use to get around the city, housing options and improving water quality, which turned out to be the most important sustainability issue with 28 percent.

“People go places and go canoeing, fishing, swimming, why can’t we do that here?” Wallace said. “People see those water bodies and want to use them more for recreation purposes, but they’re not developed for recreation purposes.”

With the help of community workshops to further assess what the community needs and wants, the city can plan where to go and how to get there.

“Reaching out to the community is the most important part and we can be more creative here,” Wallace said. “We need to go out and meet people where they’re at, make a presence there and be more visible.”

The survey and community workshops are just part one of a longer plan. The next steps is creating a vision for future plans and then putting the planning into motion.

“Just to try to get another group of people that we wouldn’t necessarily reach by computer survey,” Wallace said. “It’s easier to follow up with someone or see what they’re thinking.”

High school and junior high students will also have a chance to give their input on the planning. “Austin-opoly” will let the students work in small groups to design their community. They will have tools to illustrate city blocks in different patterns, string or yarn to demonstrate open space and then present it to the committee.

“It’s a good way for kids to be involved,” Wallace said. “They’ll be adults in the next ten years.”

About 211 people responded to the survey, which is an average number for a community of Austin’s size, according to SEH Inc., the company that led the survey process.