MYRTLE BEACH, SC (WBTW) – A housing development along Legends Drive in Myrtle Beach has some people in the area concerned over traffic.
According to projections the development in the works would nearly triple the amount of traffic on the road, and the only access to Legends Drive is on highway 501, which already sees quite a bit of congestion.
“Staff definitely has a concern over the condition of Legends and the volume of traffic that’s on it,” said David Schwerd, Deputy Director of Horry County Planning & Zoning.
The planning commission will hear a new plan for the development Thursday night which would change the zoning of some wetlands and parts of the golf course at Legends to allow for housing.
Much of the area is already zoned as a planned unit development, or PUD, but the change would rezone some of the areas that had been part of a conservation easement.
“What they’re trying to do is take some of the density from the areas that have now been put into conservation easement and assign that area to other areas that weren’t previously assigned,” explained Schwerd.
The new development has been in the works for years now and while the new plan for the area actually cuts down the number of housing units in the development, it is still projected to increase the amount of traffic from 3,500 vehicles per day to 10,000.
“The biggest concerns are traffic along that road and the safety of the residents, so the goal is really since they’re not increasing density, is to come to a compromise solution where maybe the road gets improved the citizens have better access,” said Schwerd.
Because Legends Drive is a private road, that would mean developers working with homeowners and the county to make improvements on the road.
“We’re trying to work with the developer and some of the homeowners to evaluate the possibility of upgrading the standards on that road,” said Schwerd.
Some of the upgrades that could be made are a wider shoulder, wider travel lanes and possibly adding turning lanes on existing developments.
“They could definitely include that or as part of the PUD have a phasing plan on how many lots they could build or how many units they could build before those improvements got put into place,” explained Schwerd.
The plan to rezone the area will go before the Horry County Planning Commission Thursday night. If approved for recommendation it would then go before Horry County Council.
Another development, Legends Village, is already in the works along Legends Drive; but that is not part of the PUD and will have its own access road that is not connected to Legends Drive.
