Horry County chairman wants Golden Mile parking changed

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (WBTW)-The new parking plan for the Golden Mile in Myrtle Beach has been in place for about a week and a half now. Many locals don’t like the plan and that includes Horry County council chairman Mark Lazarus. Lazarus told News13 he’s very willing to work with Myrtle Beach city officials on this issue. He says the issue right now is that the new parking changes are only considerate for city residents and not county residents.

On July 5^th, parking along the Golden Mile went from being free, to two dollars an hour if you’re not a Myrtle Beach city resident. Horry County council chair Mark Lazarus said the decision made by city officials is not fair for those who live in the county.

“Most of them, they work in the industry here, they may be doctors, they may be lawyers, they may work in the restaurant entertainment industry or whatever but they are part of this community and I don’t think we are treating them like that.”

Lazarus wants the people he represents to be able to enjoy the beach, just like city residents.  He wants to work with city officials to make a better plan.

“Maybe a tier parking pass where right now, what the city has put in place is a $100.00 parking pass that you can park in two parking lots. Well maybe if you pay a little bit more you can park in premiere parking areas.”

For those who don’t want to purchase that pass, he also wants to offer park and ride as an option. Lazarus called the city’s parking plan “a knee jerk reaction. A plan that was hodge-podged together.”

Myrtle Beach mayor John Rhodes said that’s not the case.

“It’s a well-planned strategy that we have come up with and we feel like as I say, that this plan is the best interest of the residents of the city of Myrtle Beach.”

Lazarus said this is a problem the city and county both should work on because it’s a problem that’s not going away.

“Horry County is the fifth largest, fastest growing metro area in the United States. People are coming and this problem isn’t going to go away it’s just going to get worse. So we need to go ahead and attack it now.”

Lazarus initially proposed forming a committee to deal with the parking problem. Mayor Rhodes told me today he has a good working relationship with Lazarus and that a committee is not necessary to deal with the parking disagreement.

Rhodes said the two will sit down and try to come up with a plan that is best for all residents involved.