Neighboring communities express concern with Myrtle Beach’s planned 40-mile traffic loop during Memorial Day weekend

Some Grand Strand officials said they have concerns about a Myrtle Beach traffic plan that would send people in town for Memorial Day weekend on a 40-mile loop toward Surfside Beach, through Socastee and toward North Myrtle Beach during “peak times.”

The proposed traffic circle for drivers on Ocean Boulevard between 10 p.m. and 2 a.m. on Memorial Day weekend would require them to travel south to S.C. 544, west to S.C. 31, north to S.C. 22 and east to U.S. 17, where they would head south back toward Myrtle Beach. It takes about an hour to make the drive in normal traffic. The goal is to ease crowded streets in Myrtle Beach during the holiday weekend -- which turned deadly this year.

But the plan – unveiled Tuesday – has left some leaders in neighboring communities, businesses and residents with questions and concerns.

“Their traffic plan cannot simply shift their traffic issues to North Myrtle Beach,” said North Myrtle Beach Mayor Marilyn Hatley.

Hatley said while she understands that Myrtle Beach needs to do something to counter the violent Memorial Day weekend that occurred this year, she doesn’t want their plans to negatively impact North Myrtle Beach residents.

“My main concern is with [S.C.] 22. We’ll have to insist that that traffic loops back down to Myrtle Beach and not be allowed to come north,” she said.

Hatley said North Myrtle Beach already is facing its own traffic issues because the city surrounds Atlantic Beach, where Atlantic Beach Bikefest has been centered since the 1980s on Memorial Day weekend.

“My wish is that they would leave their traffic down in Myrtle Beach and bring it back onto Grissom Parkway off of 31,” she said. “We want to help Myrtle Beach. They have a problem and we want to help them as much as we can. But we’re going to make sure we protect the citizens of North Myrtle Beach as much as they’re trying to protect their citizens.”

Tens of thousands of people come to town during Memorial Day weekend for Atlantic Beach Bikefest, Military Appreciation Days or to take advantage of a three-day weekend at the beach.

This year, three people died and seven were injured in eight shootings on Ocean Boulevard in Myrtle Beach during Memorial Day weekend.

For months, Grand Strand officials have been working to create a safety plan so the area doesn’t have the same crime and violence next year.

“We expect people to get anxious about [the plans], but the point is we’re trying to get the word out early so they can be prepared,” Leath said. “We fully realize that this is going to be a pain in the butt for the residents. ... But [the loop will be in place] a fairly narrow amount of time during the weekend.”

In Surfside Beach, town administrator Mickey Fellner also said it’s concerning to think that Myrtle Beach is pushing their traffic south toward them.

“There are going to be people who are going to elect not to make that loop and come to Surfside Beach,” she said.

Fellner said Surfside Beach typically does not deal with the overflow of visitors in town for Atlantic Beach Bikefest that weekend, but saw a large influx this year.

“Last year was significantly different than any year previously,” she said.

Fellner said there was an uptick in minor crimes in Surfside Beach during Memorial Day weekend this year.

“We’re currently developing our own plan,” she said, adding she was not ready to share details publicly. “We’ve been working on it the past six weeks. ... It’s better to be proactive. If we’re not proactive and something happens, it would be shame on us. It may happen that [Memorial Day] doesn’t effect us.”

Fellner said she hopes to present the plan to Surfside Beach Town Council by the Oct. 14 meeting for approval before sending it to the S.C. Department of Revenue to approve use of accommodations tax funds for additional law enforcement.

The S.C. General Assembly approved a last-minute budget amendment in June that allows up to one third of accommodations taxes be returned to Horry County – or municipalities in Horry County – to be set aside to pay for public safety during events held in May.

Myrtle Beach officials also intend to use accommodations tax money to pay for their plan – which city manager Tom Leath said will cost at least $1.65 million to pay for equipment and personnel.

Horry County Councilman Gary Loftus, who represents much of the area off of S.C. 544, said he was concerned about residents who live in the area being able to move around at night that weekend.

“The people have to get in and out of [those neighborhoods],” Loftus said. “You have to come up with some way for that to happen.”

Other than those initial concerns Loftus said he wanted to wait until the plan was closer to being finalized before expressing an opinion.

“It might be the most brilliant idea since D-Day,” he said. “But until I know where Omaha Beach is, I can’t really say anything. I can’t comment on something when all I’ve seen is a red line on a map.”

Leath said the plans are preliminary and expects that they will change between now and Memorial Day – or even during that weekend. Though plans to re-establish an emergency lane on Ocean Boulevard and for one-way traffic on the boulevard from 29th Avenue North heading south to Kings Highway likely are set, he said.

Leath said the plans will require the city to move the Military Appreciation Days parade from Memorial Day to another weekend in May. Since 2009, the city has celebrated Military Appreciation Days with a parade the Saturday before Memorial Day.

Leath said officers and security guards the city and other local jurisdictions plan to hire will be positioned at major intersections along the traffic loop – such as at S.C. 544 and S.C. 707 or at S.C. 31 and U.S. 501 – to prevent drivers from heading back into Myrtle Beach that way.

Horry County officials have expressed concern that drivers may decide to pull off of S.C. 544 and into parking lots if traffic is bad and potentially have street parties, Leath said.

“It’s the county’s responsibility to respond,” Leath said. “[Parking lot parties] may happen, but I think the traffic flow itself is going to be pretty smooth once folks get on 544. ... I don’t think people will say let’s stop here and have a party. The center of the event is going to be Myrtle Beach. Most of the people want to see and be seen. If you’re standing in a parking lot on 544, no one is going to see you.”

Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Brad Dean said he understands that some business owners and residents along S.C. 544 who have been removed from Memorial Day crowds in the past may be concerned about traffic moving through the area, but stressed the fact that additional law enforcement officers will be visible throughout the area.

“One of the solutions to this problem is more badges and more blue lights,” he said.

The traffic loop was part of a plan Leath presented Tuesday to Myrtle Beach City Council, which also included plans for increasing police presence and visibility; keeping pedestrians separate from drivers; increasing the number of times litter is picked up that weekend; accommodating what Leath said will likely be an increase in the number of arrests made; and establishing central storage locations for cars that are towed.

Leath said he has spoken with people in the county about the “business interruption” that would occur along S.C. 544, but said other than some gas stations and grocery stores, most of the businesses that residents use would be closed during the hours the traffic loop would be in place.

Ocean Lakes Family Campground spokeswoman Barb Krumm said she and others in her office first learned of the plans for a traffic loop when she read the newspaper on Wednesday. Ocean Lakes is located on Kings Highway at the intersection where law enforcement would turn southbound traffic onto S.C. 544.

“We don’t fully understand it and we have some concerns because it’s already a congested traffic weekend,” she said. “But it’s still early in the game.”

Leath said city officials will meet with various “interested parties” – including motorcyclists, the NAACP, the Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce, business owners and other stakeholders – to hear their input and possibly tweak the plan as the city moves forward.

Dean said most of the business owners he’s spoken with understand that there’s a need to do something to curtail crime and other issues that occur during Memorial Day weekend.

“If this plan saves one life and protects the community, it’s well worth it,” he said. “It’s really a comprehensive plan that’s addressing a problem that is occurring in Myrtle Beach but it impacts the whole Grand Strand.”

This story was originally published September 11, 2014 at 5:40 PM with the headline "Neighboring communities express concern with Myrtle Beach’s planned 40-mile traffic loop during Memorial Day weekend."