CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Some Island residents are ready to urge city council to prioritize the building of sidewalks and bike lanes along Whitecap Boulevard after a 68-year-old man was hit and critically injured by a pickup truck Friday morning.
On Friday afternoon, 86-year-old cyclist Darryl Goede was heading down the same roadway where the 68-year-old cyclist was hit.
Goede believes the City needs to have clearly marked bike lanes down this street.
"Most people think that’s a designated bike lane, but it isn’t," he said. "And if you see a bike rider traveling in the road one parallel to that supposedly-bike lane, they have the right away because there is no designated bike lane."
Goede said he’s been in a couple of accidents on the Island, but survived the ordeals.
However, May Nardone Mendoza’s good friend Maryanne Simonelli wasn’t so lucky 19 years ago. Simonelli was struck and killed by a car near the same area as the cyclist was hit while she was out walking.
"September of 2005 was Maryanne and here we are in October of 2024, 19 years later and it’s the same problem. We need it on both sides," Mendoza said.
She was happy to hear that sidewalks and bike lanes up and down Whitecap may soon be a reality as a result of this latest accident.
According to member Dr. Bryan Gulley, the Island Strategic Action Committee is looking to urge the City to make the safety improvements.
"I think that the rest of the members of ISAC will be very much in favor with passing some type of resolution asking or recommending to the City to take this particular part of The Island development plan and move it up in priority.”
Assistant Director of Public Works over traffic, Rene Couture, told 3NEWS the team will be working to look at the Friday morning accident to see what can be done to make thing's safer.
"We are working with our police department whenever there is an accident and engage with them with the findings and develop trying to develop solutions and advocate for future funding," Couture said.
