• An island resident says he was hit by a golf cart while walking along Hawksnest Bay Drive on Halloween night.
• He advocates for improving golf cart safety on the island, in hopes that no one else, especially children, will be hit by a golf cart.
• The race for Corpus Christi City Council District 4 is headed to a runoff, so Erin Holly asked the candidates where they stand on the issue.
• Both May Nardone Mendoza and Kaylynn Paxson said they want to get the Padre Island Mobility plan underway as soon as possible, which would add special paths just for golf carts.

A Padre Island resident named Steve Smith said he was hit by a golf cart while walking along Hawksnest Bay Drive on Halloween night. He said he only had minor injuries to his leg, but he worries about a child getting hit by a golf cart like him.

“Suddenly, at very low speed, a golf cart tire went up the back of my leg and pulled me down. “I’m a big target, but if it had been a little 5-year-old, you know, that kid could have gotten really hurt,” Smith said. “My main concern is the children, and I think that for the future, for safety, they should block these streets and make them only for pedestrian traffic.”

Neighbors host an annual Halloween gathering on Hawksnest Bay Drive and it becomes more popular each year. But Smith says he’s concerned about safety not just at Halloween but all year round.

“We come here every year. There are more people, more congestion, more golf carts, and I always say that one of these days someone is going to get hit. Well, they bumped into me and ran me over a little bit. And I thought this could happen many times. “I talked to someone who said every year someone gets hit,” Smith said.

With the recent announcement that the Corpus Christi City Council District 4 race is headed to a runoff, Padre Island neighborhood news reporter Erin Holly spoke with the two candidates about possible plans they might have. to improve the safety of golf carts on the island if chosen.

“We are currently working on the Island Mobility Plan but it is still a ways off but making sure it comes to fruition sooner rather than later so we have some safe golf cart paths for our islanders to get around,” May Mardone Mendoza, said the candidate for the Municipal Council for District 4.
“Island likes to get out and walk, bike and golf cart. We travel by golf cart almost anywhere on any given day. And that’s part of the culture here, so it’s a big priority for us. So if I’m elected, I want to make sure we follow through with those plans,” said City Council District 4 candidate Kaylynn Paxson.

Under the City of Corpus Christi’s Padre/Mustang Island Mobility Plan, the City of Corpus Christi initiated a study to advance previous planning efforts made for the area. The study analyzes the existing transportation system for walking, bicycling, golf carts and boat trails, taking into account recommendations from previous planning efforts and current development projects.

The Padre/Mustang Island Mobility Plan is still in the initial planning phases, and the most recent public community open house meeting on it was held in April 2024.

Residents like Smith want the mobility plan to get underway as soon as possible to ensure the safety of drivers, golf cart users, cyclists and pedestrians alike.

“Put golf cart paths on the side of the road, and that way golf carts can travel safely,” Smith said. “Everyone is here to have fun. And we want it to be safe for people in cars and for people in golf carts.”

For more information about the Padre Island/Mustang Mobility Plan, click here.

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