CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Residents are once again allowed to drive their vehicles on city beaches.
Vehicle traffic was banned on local beaches over the holiday weekend. It forced beachgoers to make a long hike.to get to the sand.
The goal was to prevent large crowds from forming.
And just a reminder: There remains a curfew from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. daily until Saturday.
Eight of the city's major parks are also re-opening today.
Just like the beaches parks were closed to prevent large gatherings to help stop the spread of COVID-19.
The parks include Water's Edge, Cole Park, West Guth, Labonte Park, Bill Witt Park, Salinas Park, Lakeview and Parker Park.
McGee Beach, North Beach and the Sunrise Beach RV park at Lake Corpus Christi also reopened today.
But visitors are still asked to practice social distancing.
And Padre Island National Seashore also reopened today.
It also was closed for the holiday weekend.
Some folks turned out today to enjoy the weather.
And we spoke with some out-of-towners, who were happy to be here.
"A lot of people had planned vacations way far in advance to come out and get away from work and relax a little bit," beach visitor Thomas Simmons from Odessa said. "And I think that's what we need in this country is to relax a little bit more."
The relaxing waves proved to be a salvation for Matthew Teehee, who was visiting from Cibolo, just outside of San Antonio.
"I drove all the way from Cibolo, to be out here that's about a 2 1/2 hour drive and I'm loving it," Teehee said. "I'm so happy to be out of my house, I'm so happy to be here."
Beachgoers said they weren't happy about the closure of the wekend. But they agreed that safety was the top priority.