With bike fest kicking off Friday, North Myrtle Beach and the Town of Atlantic Beach are gearing up for the the Black Pearl Cultural Heritage and Bike Festival.
Metal barricades already line parts Highway 17 in North Myrtle Beach, with more to be added ahead of Friday. Law enforcement say the point is to keep people moving and also stop drivers from cutting through parking lots.
The barricades will also help with the chute, which is a blocked off lane that’s used so that bikers can line up on Hwy 17 before entering Atlantic Beach. It runs from 33rd Avenue South to 27th Avenue South.
As for police presence, Atlantic Beach says not much is different this year. “We’ll have SLED, DNR, some Horry County Police, some outside agencies will be coming in,” Quentin Robinson, the acting Police Chief of Atlantic Beach, said. “It’s basically the same law enforcement we’ve been doing for the last couple years.”
Even as the barriers go up along 17, the NAACP’s lawsuit against the City of Myrtle Beach is still ongoing. A federal judge has yet to make a decision on whether the 23-mile traffic loop is race discrimination.
Barricades have been staged in Myrtle Beach but won’t be put up until Thursday. The traffic loop goes into effect 10:00 p.m. to 2:00 a.m. Friday through Sunday.
For a look at different events and parties happening throughout the weekend, click here.
