CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Since 2016, Corpus Christi city staff have been working on updating nine area development plans. One of those guides for future development was approved by council on Tuesday.
Keren Costanzo is the City of Corpus Christi’s Economic Development Manager. She said there's a 115 page area development plan for Mustang and Padre Island. The city used thoughts and ideas from residents, business owners, developers and city staff.
Some of what city staff looked at were the latest demographics for the island.
"We certainly look at demographic trends and existing conditions and projection data," Costanzo said. "We can see, for example, within the island development area plan, it does identify a growth rate that has recently surpassed that of the city overall. So, we are seeing that trend that folks are moving to the island.“
The Park Road 22 Bridge Project is one example of why the area development plan is important.
"What can Park Road 22, once completed, bring to the community, what kind of offer in terms of having the walking and potential for golf cart paths to connect the east, west parts of the island," Jay Gardner, the Chairman of the Island Strategic Action Committee said.
The committee advises City Council on island matters and helped to come up with the area development plan. Gardner said that coming up with a way to solve the island's mobility issues was one of the biggest outcomes of the study.
"One thing we did not see the last time, I am in this area development plan, is obviously, influx of all these ATVs, UTVs, golf carts and razors that really go fast," Gardner said.
"So, we hadn’t planned on that in the last development plan. A kind of a multi-modal bicyclists and all that. There’s been a real need for it to be updated from the last time, to really look at mobility.”
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During City Council’s discussion about the area development plan, it was also revealed that there is a need for a second bridge to be built between Flour Bluff and the island. That would keep the JFK Causeway from being the only way to get on and off the island.
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