CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Tourism brings about $1.5 billion to our city a year and Memorial Day weekend is one of those big money-making periods.
Hotel reservations are up and police say officers are ready to deal with everything from the crowds on the beach to dangerous drivers.
Corpus Christi Police Captain Tim Frazier said the department has taken serious note of a recent fatal crash along Highway 361 between Padre Island and Port Aransas when creating its plan to try and stop drunk drivers this weekend.
"We will be increasing the number of DWI officers on The Island and they're going to be concentrating on [Highway] 361 just because that seems to be, not just a hot topic, but an area where we get a lot of intoxicated drivers," Frazier said.
The police captain also pointed out that officers can stop an person who is drunk on the beach before they even get onto the roadway.
"If we do see someone walking to their car we can stop them prior to them getting into their vehicle," he said. "Now, we can't arrest them for driving while intoxicated because they're not operating a vehicle, but we can arrest them for public intoxication. A 'PI' is just a Class C misdemeanor you're not going to get much as far as maybe they get a fine, spend four or five hours in jail, sober up but we kept them off the street
While the police department is ready with its plan of action for the weekend, Parks and Recreation Director Robert Dodd said his employees are still out on the beach putting the finishing touches on everything.
"Our Cole Park area, our new Watergarden, we will have extended hours for our team as well as extra crews out there to pick up and clean up," Dodd said.
Visit Corpus Christi officials told 3NEWS hotel bookings for this holiday are up four percent over last year's numbers.
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