North Myrtle: Parking plaintiffs have 'not suffered any direct injuries'

The City of North Myrtle Beach has moved to dismiss a complaint filed in April by 24 residents who are alleging dangerous and unlawful parking in the median along North Ocean Boulevard between 3rd Avenue North and Shorehaven Drive, according to a response from the city.

In the response, the city states that the residents have "not suffered any direct injuries."

"Their grievance appears to be that parking in the grass median areas near their homes creates a safety hazard for non-residents who visit the beach and choose to park near their homes," the response reads.

In the lawsuit, the residents state that new signs should be put up in the medians, a grassy area separating the northbound and southbound lanes.

The majority of the residents who filed the suit live near the area where parking is allowed.

"If any of the Plaintiffs suffers an individualized direct harm as a result of the Defendant's failure to properly exercise its police powers, the Plaintiff may then have constitutional standing under certain circumstances," the response states. "Plaintiffs do not have constitutional standing under the allegations alleged in their complaint."

In April, Public Information Officer Pat Dowling said the South Carolina Department of Transportation sent city officials an email stating "the city had the option to do that if they wanted to."

Dowling said the reason the city chose to provide parking on the median was due to a lack of parking in the city and in the county itself.

"It's not a long-term fix for us, but it is short term," Dowling said.

This story was originally published April 24, 2018 at 5:59 PM with the headline "North Myrtle: Parking plaintiffs have 'not suffered any direct injuries'."