CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Bayfront Park, and the accompanying stretch of Shoreline Boulevard, are popular spots for evening walks, jogs, and scooter rides. The area, however, has gone at least a week without working lights -- along the street, and within the park itself.
"I wouldn’t be out here at night,” daytime scooter rider Kley Brown said. “There are no lights, so a lot of things could happen out here at night.”
Ensuring Shoreline street lights are on is the responsibility of AEP Texas, which has a contract with the city. The company, however, said it has to be made aware of outages in order for workers to go out and make repairs.
“By and large, it’s the city or citizens who report street lights that are out,” said AEP Texas Director of Communications Frank Espinoza.
Espinoza said workers repaired the street lights along Shoreline on Friday afternoon after getting word about them being out earlier in the week.
He encourages anyone to contact AEP if they see street lights that aren’t working, either by reporting it on the company’s website or calling (877) 373-4858.
As for the lights in Bayfront Park, they’re the city Parks and Recreation Department's responsibility.
The department’s Community Relations and Engagement Superintendent Lisa Oliver said KRIS 6 News’ inquiry about the light outages Friday was the first time she’d received such a report. She said a staff member will investigate, and if he confirms there is an outage, repairs could begin soon.
That can’t happen soon enough for people who like to cruise through that area on two wheels.
“There’s a lot of people here walking at night — old people, I’d say, cruising at night — taking their nightly walks,” Brown said. “(Riding a scooter at that time) would be a very dangerous thing to do.”
