Saturday, April 20, 2024
The Atlantic Beach Bikefest announced tentative agreement on a 23-mile traffic pattern yesterday achieving its number one goal.
The goal? Sealing off the north end neighborhoods of Myrtle Beach from bikefest traffic as much as possible.
Beyond that goal, there doesn’t seem to be much planning at this point.
It seems that Gov. Nikki Haley’s thinking with respect to the Atlantic Beach Bikefest has begun to enter the realm of reality.
After meeting with several local government leaders yesterday, Haley told the media everybody was working together to see that bike week (Atlantic Beach Bikefest) “is safe, that it is law abiding and that it moves forward.”
Haley said discussions were very productive and “we are now working on traffic issues, noise ordinances and all of those things on how we need to go forward…”
A fourth traffic loop option for Atlantic Beach Bikefest traffic has been proposed by Horry County Council member Marion Foxworth.
The fourth option is on the agenda to be considered by the Atlantic Beach Bikefest Task Force at its meeting this afternoon.
Foxworth, who represents Horry County Council District Three, said his district is the most impacted district by Bikefest crowds and he believes, as a primary stakeholder, his input is required.
“The brunt of the ‘festival area’ is within District Three,” Foxworth said. “I am very concerned about this event and the planning that is evolving.”
The 40 mile traffic loop proposed by City of Myrtle Beach officials is quickly becoming the Achilles Heel of Atlantic Beach Bikefest planning.
Yesterday, Horry County Council Chairman Mark Lazarus proposed an alternate plan during the county’s Public Safety Committee meeting.
The Lazarus Plan would take traffic down Ocean Boulevard to the traffic light at Market Commons. A right turn on U.S. 17 Business to Harrelson Boulevard where a left turn onto Harrelson Boulevard would take traffic to U.S. 17 Bypass. A right turn on U.S. 17 Bypass to the intersection at 29 Avenue North with a right turn onto 29th Avenue North to Ocean Boulevard would complete the loop.
It seems the main planning items for the Atlantic Beach Bikefest that came out of the two day law enforcement summit in Myrtle Beach earlier this week deal with federal programs.
The City of Myrtle Beach has expressed significant interest in taking advantage of several U.S. Department of Justice grants that will provide the department with patrol rifles, ballistic riot control shields and diversity training.
Those three put together seem to be mixed planning unless diversity training means putting daisies in the barrels of the patrol rifles.
The City of Myrtle Beach made initial plans for the Memorial Day weekend Atlantic Beach Bikefest crowd control public yesterday.
The plan calls for controlled traffic patterns from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. during the nights of Memorial Day weekend plus increased police presence within the city.
According to sources familiar with the plans, the City of Myrtle Beach is seeking 400 officers from outside jurisdictions to help beef up police presence during Atlantic Beach Bikefest. Horry County and North Myrtle Beach are seeking 150 additional officers each.
Sources tell us the city is still considering hiring security personnel from private security firms in addition to the planned increase in police officers.
Myrtle Beach City Council held an executive session yesterday to discuss safety and security planning for Memorial Day weekend.
That’s great, but it’s only a small part of the public safety problem in the city.
While the Myrtle Beach City Council is looking for better ways to control crowds during Memorial Day weekend, it must not forget it has a growing year around policing problem.
Recent changes in state law have made as much as an additional $5 million in accommodations tax money available for law enforcement in the Myrtle Beach area for the month of May.
This money is specifically targeted at providing additional police officers from around the state, and possibly from out of state, to handle crowds during the Atlantic Beach Bikefest over Memorial Day weekend.
Obviously there was insufficient law enforcement in Myrtle Beach during this past Memorial Day weekend when crowds got out of control in the south end of the city.
But, more and better policing is needed in Myrtle Beach throughout the year.
It’s been four weeks since the violence that made national news erupted during the Memorial Day Atlantic Beach Bikefest and Myrtle Beach City Council remains AWOL.
With the city council missing, the Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce has stepped into the breach ‘considering’ a curfew and offering to pay for more police next year.
Last time I checked, those considerations come under core responsibilities of local government. They should not be suggestions made on the other side of Oak Street.
But, nature abhors a vacuum and the apparent missing status of Myrtle Beach City Council has created a political vacuum.
Myrtle Beach residents began contacting members of Horry County Council this week requesting help with public safety problems in the city.
This is not as ridiculous as it sounds. After all, they are paying for it.
Countywide tax millage is paid by all property owners throughout Horry County. The Horry County Police Department is funded from the county’s general fund whose main revenue source is countywide tax millage.
City residents pay an additional level of taxes (citywide millage, fees and the like). The Myrtle Beach Police Department is funded from the city’s general fund whose main revenue source is the additional citywide tax millage.
Speak Up…