PORT ARANSAS, Texas — The City of Port Aransas is ready to change the bulkhead area between Charlie's Pasture and Port Street Pier into a beautiful nature park the community can enjoy.
The proposed location is right along the Corpus Christi Ship Channel on Port Street Pier.
City Manager David Parsons said the area is technically a park but it's a mud-pit.
"So, we think it’s time to get that area dressed up and get it to its highest and best views as to oppose to what it is now," Parsons said.
The project will transform a half-mile of dirt into a park with several amenities that will help beautify the 4,000 linear feet of land.
"That will have full ADA parking accessibility, parking, a trail system, bathrooms, fishing amenities, boat watching amenities, good native landscape that will be salt tolerance," he said.
Currently, the design plan is 80 percent complete and will be presented to city council this summer.
"So we'll have our park estimate numbers here about in the next three weeks," Parsons said. "So when the council kicks off their budget workshop for the 2024 to 2025 budget session, they'll have the park's numbers in hand to see if they're going to move forward with all of it or maybe a phase of it."
Fisherman Stephen Allard is a regular at Port Street Pier and he thinks a park would attract more people to the area.
“As you can see the concrete, unnatural manmade structure is not appealing to a lot of folks," Allard said. "But this is an untapped resource for families to see dolphins, fishing, all kinds of stuff families can enjoy on this side.”
At this moment, Parsons said there is not an estimation on how long this project will take to complete.
”It really depends on the cost and how much detail the council wants to put in it," Parsons said. "So, it really depends on what level of amenities the council chooses, primarily the restrooms.”
Allard hopes the plan will be approved so the community can continue to enjoy Port Aransas's nature.
”It’s always nice to see natural habitat than man-made especially on a beautiful island like this," Allard said.
The design plan for Bulkhead Park will be presented to the city council in July but it will not be voted on until the next city budget is approved.