- The City of Corpus Christi Padre Island Mobility Plan is moving forward.
- More golf cart accessibility for golf cart drivers on the Island.
- Golf cart bridges will start to be built in Whitecap NPI development soon.
Padre Island residents have been asking for more golf cart accessibility on the island for years. As a solution, the City of Corpus Christi came up with the Padre Island Mobility Plan.
The Padre Island Mobility Plan is described as "A multi-modal transportation plan to identify walking, cycling, golf cart and watercraft pathways that connect residential neighborhoods to commercial and retail uses, as well as critical routes." Residents are mainly concerned with the golf cart aspect of the plan. Local golf cart rental businesses, such as Beach Bum Cart Rentals, will benefit greatly from the installation of golf cart routes on the island.
“It’ll make a drastic impact for the local restaurants and stores that are not golf cart accessible," Kiwee Hartigan, Owner of Beach Bum Cart Rentals, said.
Funding has been approved by the TIRZ #2 board and a developer agreement is in place to install golf cart bridges in the Whitecap NPI development. Funding has been approved but is pending a development agreement that is set to go to the council for the installation of golf cart bridges in the Lake Padre development. Until the golf cart bridges and pathways are installed, golf cart drivers have restricted access to where they can go on their carts.
“Well when you get on your golf cart, and you’re hanging out with your friends, you may meet up at the beach, hey let’s go down here. We can’t get there via golf cart. It’s too dangerous, so then you gotta go home, get your vehicle and then drive back. And usually, that’s just not going to happen. You’re just going to go where you know you can get there directly on your golf cart," Hartigan said.
Haritgan said that he has heard many of his cart rental customers say that if they can't get to a restaurant or store by cart, then they just don't go there.
“Many of us definitely want to make it down to Marker 37, Snoopy’s, and a few of the other places that we can not get to," Hartigan said. "As far as the rental side goes, when you’re explaining to your customers where you can and cannot drive with golf carts, it gets a little confusing, and putting in the golf cart paths. I think would be a huge success for the island.”
One of the goals of the Padre Island Mobility Plan is to make golf cart driving more convenient and safer on the island.
"Putting in the golf cart access to everything on the island would be a huge expansion for the development of the whole community itself," Hartigan said.
A public community meeting about the Padre Island Mobility Plan will be held at Seashore Middle Academy on Monday, April 15, from 5:00-6:30 p.m.
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