Is Bikefest moving north? Myrtle Beach businesses report low traffic, less bikers

Businesses along Ocean Boulevard in Myrtle Beach are reporting a slower Memorial Day weekend, something many attendees of the annual Bikefest event and business owners are attributing to the the 23-mile traffic loop. Now, people are speculating the party is moving north.

"People come a week before at Harley Week and there's none of these barricades, none of this other stuff set up," said Bernis Spane II, who attended the event in Atlantic Beach on Friday night. "So we're tired of it, so we come down to the original spot, Atlantic Beach. This is what Black Bike Week is all about. Where we at right now."

Vendors lined the streets in Atlantic Beach, where bikes with loud radios were cruising through. People danced in the street, carrying pineapple drinks and enjoying the scene.

In Myrtle Beach, city officials brought in about 430 police officers and lined the boulevard with barricades for the event — a decision that was made after a rash of shootings plagued Myrtle Beach during the 2014 Bikefest.

The traffic loop, running from 10 p.m. until 2 a.m., shoots people out into the county, where they have the option to exit and continue into Conway, or drive back around into city limits. Along Ocean Boulevard, drivers can only go south, with the northbound lane reserved for emergency vehicles.

On both the first and second nights the loop was shut down early. It closed around 11:30 p.m. Friday due to the low amount of vehicles, and police announced the end of the loop just after 1 a.m. Sunday.

On the boulevard Friday, few bikes drove by and people sat outside of motels contemplating what events, if any, to attend later in the evening. By Saturday, the crowds had increased. However, the event was still not as crowded as it has been in previous years.

For business owners on the boulevard, complaints about the officers and the traffic loop were heard throughout the first night of the event.

"I don't like it," said Steve Clarke, manager of Gay Dolphin Gift Cove. "Cause it affects everyone around here. Everybody wants to come up with the right solution, and I don't think the loop's quite it. I really really don't.

"Four years ago when they had all those shootings, it was wall-to-wall people down here. You couldn't even barely breathe there were so many people. But we got a lot of business out of it. Now, it's been tapering off every year."

Clarke, along with Peaches Corner manager Robert Alston, reported their sales numbers were down from previous years.

"It's been slow," Alston said. "I think because the loop is up, and people don't like it and they're staying away from the boulevard."

Despite the complaints, Myrtle Beach Mayor Brenda Bethune said she is happy with how the event has been going so far this year.

Bethune said many families were out in the city during the first night of the festival.

"It looks like we don't have as large of crowds as what we used to have, but the crowds that are here are just very friendly and respectful," Bethune said. "We have some great visitors in town right now."

While Bethune said the city is always looking to bring more tourists to the area, she declined to answer if officials would work to bring in more bikers for future years.

Bethune said she was out on the boulevard Friday night and planned to attend the event throughout the weekend, visiting businesses to see how the weekend is going.

"I just left a business on the boulevard who said that her business is up this year, that she has a lot more families coming in and bikers coming in to dine with her and she was just really happy about that," Bethune said Saturday morning.

The north end

Alston believes Bikefest has started to move to the north end of the Grand Strand.

"They have more events, concerts and everything there and that's keeping them away from the beach," Alston said.

However, Pat Dowling, public information officer for the city of North Myrtle Beach, said there is no evidence the festival has moved as far as North Myrtle Beach.

"The number of visitors to Atlantic Beach, just based on our observations of what takes place on Highway 17, which is our main corridor, is that there are fewer participants this year than there were last year," Dowling said, adding that attendance numbers for North Myrtle Beach also are lower than usual.

Dowling attributed the numbers to a tropical storm brewing off Florida's coast that is expected to drench the Carolinas over the holiday weekend.

Dowling said the city would welcome bikers if the event moved to the north end, but there are not enough accommodations for Bikefest to be as large as it was in Myrtle Beach.

"We just don't have the plethora of highrise hotels that are going to house people so I doubt that's going to happen, and if it does, well, they're people too and we'll take care of them," he said. "They're a younger crowd, but that's okay."

In Atlantic Beach, businesses showed mixed results for the number of attendees.

Jane Evans, with Evans Motel, said every room was full with people who attend the event every year.

But Dwayne Suffern, owner of the Rivera Motor Lodge, said he has four rooms available. In the past the motel has been typically full, he said.

"People are just getting tired of the traffic pattern they have," Suffern said. "And times just change. People want to do different things. My biggest thing is the traffic pattern. I don't care for it at all. I like the police presence. It keeps everything under control."

This story was originally published May 27, 2018 at 12:47 AM with the headline "Is Bikefest moving north? Myrtle Beach businesses report low traffic, less bikers."