MYRTLE BEACH, SC (WBTW) -The controversial Bikefest traffic loop will be allowed Memorial Day weekend, according to a ruling handed down by a federal judge Wednesday evening.
In the ruling, Judge Marvin Quattlebaum stated that the NAACP had to prove that stopping the 23 mile loop would benefit the public interest for their request to be granted.
“The court finds that the public interest is more likely served if the plaintiffs motion for injunctive relief is denied,” the document says.
The NAACP filed a lawsuit against the City of Myrtle Beach and the police department in February arguing that the loop shouldn’t be put in place. The lawsuit claims discrimination, among other things, over the traffic loop’s implementation during Memorial Day weekend but not during other seasonal events that draw a large number of visitors. The NAACP also requested a preliminary injunction to stop the traffic loop from being used during the 2018 bike fest.
The city and the NAACP both showed up to federal court in Greenville on May 8 to make their arguments but the decision wasn’t handed down until this week.
Wednesday’s ruling isn’t the end of the lawsuit. No decision has been made on the traffic loop for upcoming years.
