The City of Myrtle Beach will use this week's fall motorcycle rally
as a "dry run" for one of the new anti-motorcycle-rally laws it put
in place Tuesday and as a chance to educate riders about the city's
expectations.
Amendments to the city's noise ordinance, including details of
vehicle noise levels and motorcycle muffler requirements, took effect
Tuesday afternoon as soon as the City Council gave them final
approval.
Myrtle Beach councils have wrestled with the rallies for years, as
the Harley-Davidson-focused spring ride grew from a four-day event to
a 10-day one, and crowds drawn to the Atlantic Beach Bikefest over
Memorial Day weekend spilled over into Myrtle Beach and turned Ocean
Boulevard into a street party for three nights a year.
This year, after a college student was shot to death in an argument
over a parking space over Memorial Day weekend, and bolstered by
hundreds of local residents demanding action, the city council took
concrete steps toward eliminating the rallies' impact on the city,
raising property taxes by three mills to pay for the efforts.
City Manager Tom Leath said the noise ordinance amendment is the only
one of the 15 ordinances or amendments likely to affect the fall
rally, called The Pilgrimage, scheduled for Wednesday through Sunday.
And at first, people will likely only get warning tickets.
"We're not out to surprise anyone," Leath said.
"We want to educate people."
In fact, the city is offering free muffler checks from 1-3 p.m.
Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday at the Law Enforcement Annex on
Mustang Street so people can find out if they are in compliance.
The fall rally, usually much smaller than the two May rallies, is a
chance for the city to learn, too. About 60,000 people usually come
in October, as opposed to the 300,000-plus who arrive in May.
With fewer people, local police officers will be able to work out the
logistics of traffic checkpoints, hand-held videocameras and decibel
meters, Leath said.
Two traffic checkpoints have been scheduled - one begins at 7:30 p.m.
Friday on 21st Avenue North near the Department of Motor Vehicles,
between Oak Street and Robert M. Grissom Parkway; the second starts
at 11 a.m. Saturday on Farrow Parkway at Kings Highway.
Every vehicle will be stopped and checked for any violations related
to equipment and noise. Each driver will be asked to show his or her
license, registration and proof of insurance.
Horry County Council Chairwoman Liz Gilland said bikers will educate
each other about the new rules, too.
"They are very effective at communicating with each other," she said.
So far, the county has discussed the possibility of limiting rally
vendor permits, but because it waited to see what Myrtle Beach would
do and has to review each ordinance three times before final
approval, the county is out of time to make rally-curbing moves
before next week's event.
Gilland said she appointed an ad-hoc panel to study congestion, noise
and unruly behavior - the "Big Three" rally issues - and make
recommendations to the full council.
"We want to have some measures in place by mid- to late winter for
the May rallies," she said. Because the fall rally is so much
smaller, she said she heard no complaints about it all summer as the
public debate raged over Myrtle Beach's efforts.
Gilland said she anticipates a smaller rally this year, as do others,
like Mike Shank, events promoter for Harley-Davidson of Myrtle Beach.
He said his business, Festival Promotions, is still arranging for
vendors at dealerships south of Myrtle Beach and in North Myrtle
Beach, as well as at Barefoot Landing.
"The only thing I changed for the fall rally was vendors at Colonial
Mall, but we only had six or eight there anyway," Shank said.
He offered them space at Barefoot Landing and a couple are going
there, but others chose either to stay at the mall or not to come at
all.
That, he said, is not solely because of the city's efforts against
the rallies.
"I think it's a little bit of everything," Shank said. "There's a lot
of economic uncertainty, and a lot of the vendors had slow summers -
they just didn't want to take the risk for the fall rally. For a lot
of them, the margin is slim anyway, but then you add in the travel,
$4 a gallon for gas, hotel prices, paying their employees ..."
And things are going to be somewhat different this fall.
The city uses traffic checkpoints throughout the year, but has never
before included decibel level monitoring and doesn't usually conduct
them during the daytime, Leath said, but will this year.
Leath said officers at checkpoints will have meters to check for loud
mufflers, and traffic patrol officers will get small handheld cameras
to use during regular traffic stops. The officers giving tickets for
noise violations can shoot short videos with sound to be played later
in court.
The city raised property taxes by three mills this summer to help pay
for its anti-rally efforts, and Leath said the new cameras are one of
the expenses the increase will cover.
Checkpoint officers also will have to make sure they have safe places
for people to pull over while they run the noise tests.
City spokesman Mark Kruea said there probably won't be many traffic
delays during the fall rallies, but in May, "people had better get
used to it," he said.
"There will be major back-ups."
http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/news/local/story/610845.html
Davīd
Greenville, NC
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