MYRTLE BEACH, SC- The Bikefest Task force met again Thursday afternoon. The group consists of state and local leaders and meets monthly to discuss safety plans for Memorial Day Weekend.
For the past several months, the group has worked to keep the public informed. Surfside Beach recently joined several others in launching a website to do just that. The sites includes a map of the 23-mile traffic loop.
In addition, The Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce published beachbikeweek.org. The website lists safety guidelines and features a video commentary from Horry County Police Chief Saundra Rhodes.
According to County Spokesperson Lisa Bourcier, local billboard companies are offering the county unused digital space to publicize important event information.
While Emergency Management Director Randy Webster is happy with the planning thus far, he said there’s no guarantee that this year’s event will run more smoothly.
“We can’t prevent a lot of things from happening, so even if we’ve done all of this there’s still an opportunity for things not to go well,” he said.
Webster said there are a few little tweeks that will happen as the event nears, but there will be no more major changes. He did announce that law enforcement agencies will operate using a unified command center located at the Myrtle Beach Annex.
With all of the planning and preparation that has gone into Memorial Day Weekend, News 13 asked Webster if the same will take place for this spring’s Harley Rally?
“That rally is just kind of plateaued. We’ll still be responding to that, we’ll have the EOC open for that, law enforcement will still be out like they always have been, but it does not require as much planning as this one just because the events are just different,” Webster Stated.
Thursdays meeting lasted only about 20 minutes. Webster said that’s a sign everybody is on the same page. The next Task Force meeting will be held March 18.
