Should the money be spent on potholes or perhaps a new bridge to the Island. The Corpus Christi Metropolitan Planning Organization wants to hear from you.

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — A billion dollars. That’s how much state and federal funding is being allocated to help shape the future of transportation right here in the Coastal Bend.

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The Corpus Christi Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) is looking for input from residents as it decides which projects that money should be spent on. The MPO will hold two public meetings this week the first on Tuesday giving residents a chance to speak up about everything from roads and sidewalks to lighting and safety.

When it comes to safety, there’s one group that knows the streets pretty well and they’re helping shed some light on where improvements could be made.

Every weekend, downtown Corpus Christi lights up with a parade of colorful LED bikes.

“It’s like seeing someone open a bag of Skittles and drop it on the floor. It’s bright, fun and people just love it,” said Edward Martinez with Glow Ride Tours.

Martinez and his team know the city streets well and say there are still areas they’ll avoid.

“We have a couple of streets, we used to ride, through Chaparral and back towards the other way, but we’ve had to move around a couple of times just because of lighting. And just some streets have a little bit of potholes, so we have to avoid those,” said Martinez.

Those are the type of comments the Corpus Christi Metropolitan Planning Organization is searching for as it works to develop its next 25-year transportation plan.

MPO Director Robert MacDonald is helping decide how to use that one billion dollars in state and federal funding over the next two decades.

“Behind me you can see what we finished, the Harbor Bridge is done. We need to know what is next,” MacDonald said.

Looking at traffic trends and accident locations, the MPO has already identified several problem areas.

“We put together a task force that had traffic engineers and law enforcement and others that looked at where accidents are occurring,” MacDonald explained.

The MPO’s online dashboard maps out crash data, including pedestrian fatalities. For example, in Flour Bluff the data shows a number of deadly accidents happening outside intersections.

“We’re finding they are crossing not at the intersection, crossing midblock, usually at night. A lot of the solutions are traffic lights, streetlights, sidewalks, islands in the middle of the street to give pedestrians a place to stop and proceed,” he said.

As for what to prioritize MacDonald said that’s where the public comes in.

Should it be spent on potholes, sidewalks, crosswalks, or something else? A new bridge to Padre Island?

Early survey results show people want safer streets for pedestrians, bicyclists, and drivers alike.

“We need to know what the next project is going to be. Is it something else to the island another crossing perhaps or widening the existing crossing? We’ve heard things of 361 on the island, improvements to Yorktown, Staples, SPID the list goes on and on,” MacDonald said.

Once those projects are identified, TxDOT and individual cities will work on design solutions though it will take time and planning.

The MPO’s ultimate goal is Vision Zero to have zero deaths on the road.

“We’ll save up to fifty lives a year. Right now, we are having fatalities 40 to 45 fatalities a year,” MacDonald said.

Martinez believes investing in the city’s Bayfront would be a great place to start.

“People stay here up and down Shoreline so when they come this is the first thing they see,” said Martinez.

The MPO’s first public meeting will be held Tuesday at Del Mar College’s Center for Economic Development, followed by another Thursday at the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Center. Both meetings run from 4 to 7 p.m., and everyone is invited to share their ideas for making Corpus Christi’s streets safer for the future.