- Padre Island parents and kids spoke up at Corpus Christi City Council public comment
- Desire for a skateboarding park to be put into the existing plans for Commodore Park on the island
- City council is listening to this request and staring to have conversations
Multiple Padre Island parents and children spoke up during the public comment section of Corpus Christi City Council meeting on Tuesday. They expressed their desire for a skate park to be built on Padre Island. Parents are concerned for their children's safety at the current places where they are riding their skateboards and bikes.
“My grandson is twelve years old. They have nowhere to skate. So they go over to the IGA grocery store or Hard Knocks and skateboard with all of the traffic coming in or out. There’s nowhere for them to be, or on the street. It’s really dangerous," Kim Erwin said. Erwin was one of the few adults who spoke at the city council.
Erwin said that her grandson and his friends currently ride their skateboards and bikes in the parking lot behind Island Market IGA and Hard Knocks Sports Grill. This busy location makes Erwin and other parents and grandparents nervous for the kid's safety. So, they wanted to do something about it.
“We came up with a petition just Sunday night. It’s been not even 72 hours and it's grown to over 500 signatures. And those are legit signatures from families and people out here on the island or even in surrounding areas who want another place to skate. So, what we’re hoping, is that the city will consider our proposal," Cheryl Seagrest, another concerned parent, said.
When the petition was brought to the attention of District 4 City Councilman Dan Suckley, it was the first time he heard
about this specific concern on the island.
"The city’s already been working on this for 17 months to this point. So, there’s been a lot of community engagement up to this point. So, it was a little bit of a surprise to me," Suckley said.
The Commodore Park project has been in the works for over a year and a half. Multiple community engagement meetings have been held to hear what amenities community members believe should be included in the design. Suckley is listening to residents concerns for their kids safety and their wants for a skate park to be added to the plans for the park. However, more details still need to be addressed.
“Well part of it is trying to figure out the funding mechanism. And so we are having conversations right now in council about things that can be put on the bond 2024 package for taxpayers to consider,” Suckley said.
Some Padre Island parents said that they are willing to do whatever it takes to get a safe place for their kids to skate and bike.
"When you really want something, our children really want this as well. We're going to try to make it happen. If it requires added funds from other sources, I know there's a lot of people willing to give donations and these boys and girls want this skate park," Apryl Noles, another concerned parent, said.
Councilman Suckley said that he is going to try his best to get a skate park included in the plans for Commodore Park on the island.
"It's mainly just the funding component right now, is to how to keep it funded and keep it moving forward," Suckley said.
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