State Representative Greg Duckworth has a plan to improve transportation and parking in North Myrtle Beach.
He unveiled his ideas last week to different local leaders.
Duckworth wants to change Ocean Boulevard with the help of only a paint can– he doesn’t want to do any kind of construction there but rather wants to rework some of the traffic lines.
His plan calls to cut down the width of the North and Sound Bound lanes and add two bike lanes on both sides.
On certain parts of the South Bound lane, he wants to add on-street parking. To do that, the plan says to get rid of the center turn lane and instead use that space to veer the South Bound lane around the new street parking.
“How come we’re using so much asphalt for these items when we could use a little bit less?” Duckworth (R-North Myrtle Beach) questioned. “And we could pick up so much more use on the very same section of asphalt.”
He said there is also too much pavement in other parts of the city that are away from the beach, areas he calls “oceans of asphalt.” Duckworth said big commercial parking lots that rarely get filled should see better use. “Things like parks and open space,” he suggested. “Can it be maybe for more of a walkable community?”
Under his plan, you could even see water taxis come to the city. “Entice more people to think about different ways to get from point A to point B,” Duckworth said.
These ideas are all very new, and ones Duckworth said he hopes to worth with the city of North Myrtle Beach on in the coming months.
Pat Dowling, spokesperson for the city, said in a text: “We are always appreciative when citizens and elected leaders come together to provide new ways of looking at and possibly resolving long-term challenges.”
