CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — On Tuesday, City Council passed the first of two readings of accepting the STEP grant. The funding will help increase traffic enforcement for speeding, DWIs, seatbelt violations and other traffic issues. The city will contribute almost $30,000 to the program. The city says CCPD has received this grant for over 20 years.
"Speeding is a big cause of the big majority of our crashes," said Donald Moore, deputy chief of operations for the Corpus Christi Police Department.
According to TxDOT data, there have been more than 8,500 speed-related crashes in Corpus Christi since 2022. Moore said because the grant comes from TxDOT, officers will focus on targeted areas like Interstate 37 and SPID.
Local workers who have front-row seats to SPID traffic say speeding is a constant problem.
"We do see a lot of speeding, a lot of reckless driving," said Elliott Cavazos, who works nearby.
Daniel Shular, a local driver, agreed.
"Everybody's speeding. Everybody's trying to catch their orange light before it turns red," Shular said.
Joseph Gonzalez has worked at Hest Fitness Products for more than 30 years and has a clear view of SPID from his workplace.
"We have seen a whole gamut of stuff," Gonzalez said.
He said speeding happens daily, with motorcycle racing being particularly problematic.
"One of the biggies is motorcycles racing up and down. We have top of the mind awareness of what's going on down here," Gonzalez said.
Gonzalez supports the increased enforcement efforts.
"Any kind of enhanced awareness and participation by the police department is going to do nothing but help," Gonzalez said.
City leaders are expected to discuss the second reading for this item on October 14.
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