CORPUS CHRISTI (Kiii News) -
A stretch of Ayers Street has been targeted as a danger to drivers and pedestrians, and at least one City Council member wants the City to take action.
However, because of the way the City grades streets for needed repairs, the work that should be done there won't be happening anytime soon.
Councilwoman Priscilla Leal brought the dangers of Ayers Street before Council on Tuesday. She pointed out that the number of accidents along the stretch of the street between SPID and Gollihar is well above the national average.
Statistics show that the accidents per mile there are 8.6, as compared to the national average of 2.92 accidents.
The City said the roadway needs sidewalks, bike lanes and a center turn lane. During the City Council meeting on Tuesday, Leal tried to get funding for the project during the Bond 2012 discussion. That effort failed.
But residents like Sylvia Barrera believe the money needs to be found to get something done there. Barrera and her daughter were waiting at a bus stop along Ayers on Wednesday. They know the dangers of the street, because they often walk to and from the businesses in the area.
"It's very dangerous for people to walk through here," Barrera said. "There's no sidewalks, no center turn lanes, nothing. Things get a little crazy on the street. Oh yes. Especially with all this traffic. It's very dangerous to walk through here because you're liable to get hit or run over."
"On that part of Ayers, it's in pretty good shape," City Engineer Dan Biles said. "It's pretty good compared to the rest of the city, so it gets a very low score for pavement condition. Now, it gets the highest scores for safety, and the fact that it's not part of the master plan and some other things. But the pavement score drives its low ranking when coming to its priority."
Again, there is no money for the project at this time because Ayers did not grade high with the City's street repair selection process. Road pavement condition outweighs the safety of the street. Pavement scores drive the ranking. The worst sections of streets around town are judged as a danger because of deaths, not just traffic accidents.
