What about the locals? Horry County initiates beach parking plan

Horry County residents who are excluded from free beach parking in Myrtle Beach will be the focus of new efforts to increase parking options along the Grand Strand.

Horry County Council Chairman Mark Lazarus says locals are scrambling to find reasonable beach parking since the Myrtle Beach City Council adopted new parking restrictions that went into effect July 5.

Lazarus said the county council will respond to the City of Myrtle Beach’s actions by preparing a comprehensive parking plan for the entire county that will examine the need for more beach parking, park and ride facilities, bathrooms and concession stands.

“A lot of citizens who live in the unincorporated area of the county spend a lot of dollars in municipalities, and not only do they spend a lot of dollars as customers year-round, they are also people who work and support the tourism industry,” Lazarus said.

“So we’re going to have folks from the county looking for places to go, to get to the beach,” Lazarus said. “I think we need to figure out a win-win for everybody.”

Lazarus wants to create a countywide parking commission to work with Myrtle Beach and North Myrtle Beach to hammer out the details and address the needs of locals and tourists.

“It would look at how we resolve the parking issues, instead of doing knee-jerk reactions that we’re doing right now — hodge-podging it together,” Lazarus said. “Let’s have one comprehensive plan that we can put together that is good for the entire Grand Strand area, from Surfside and Garden City all the way to North Myrtle Beach and Little River.”

“We’ve got a lot of residents in unincorporated areas that are wanting to come enjoy the beach, and we need to address that,” Lazarus said.

Lazarus said he’s hopeful that the City of Myrtle Beach will work with county officials to create the parking commission to cooperate on an areawide parking plan.

Myrtle Beach Mayor John Rhodes said he’s willing to meet with Lazarus to discuss options, but bucked the idea of a countywide commission.

“I’d be more than happy to sit down with the chairman and listen to some of his ideas. Whether that would be able to fit into what our plans are, I’m not sure till I hear it,” Rhodes said.

A spokesman for North Myrtle Beach could not be reached for comment.

Rhodes defended the city’s decision to charge for parking in beach access lots and restrict street parking along the Golden Mile to Myrtle Beach residents only, saying it’s his job to protect his constituents’ needs.

“How many places can you go in the country where you don’t have to pay for parking? It’s not like it’s a hold-up,” said Rhodes, adding that the county also charges for parking in some areas.

The county charges $1.25 an hour or $6 a day for parking in the Shore Drive area and Garden City Beach, and allows free parking on Nash Street near the Springmaid Pier.

The new Myrtle Beach parking rates are $2 an hour for beach front parking lots or $10 a day, but are free to city residents.

Myrtle Beach recently asked the county to give them the deed to Nash Street with the intention to charge for those 35 to 45 free parking spaces.

County council members say they are not willing to give up the street without deed restrictions that would keep parking free.

Rhodes said that’s a deal killer.

“If we take it over, we’re going to put paved parking there, we’re not going to take it over with restrictions on it,” Rhodes said. “If we can’t control the street like we want to, there’s no reason to own it.”

This story was originally published July 13, 2016 at 12:12 PM with the headline "What about the locals? Horry County initiates beach parking plan."