SPID is false advertising!

Continuing on Hugh’s Corpus Christi theme from yesterday, my recent Memorial Day weekend vacay (actually it was a pre-Memorial Day weekend vacay) took me to Mustang Island.  To get there, we took SH 358, the main drag through Corpus Christi, also known as South Padre Island Drive.  However, “SPID”, as it’s known to locals, is a misnomer of sorts because it actually leads to North Padre Island, not South Padre Island, which is a good 120 or so miles south.

So then, why is it named South Padre Island Drive?

The road is actually just Padre Island Drive.  The “South” in South Padre Island Drive comes from the fact that there are two halves of Padre Island Drive (although they’re nowhere equal in length): the southern half and the northern half, just like there is North Staples St. and South Staples St.  According to Google Maps, it looks like Bear Lane is the dividing line for Padre Island Drive, so there actually is a short section of North Padre Island Drive between there and I-37.  The rest of 358 (which is by far the bulk of it) is South Padre Island Drive.

That said, given the possible confusion this could (and probably does) cause, I propose that city leaders in Corpus Christi consider changing the name to “Padre Island Drive South”, although I suppose that PIDS doesn’t have quite the ring to it that SPID does.