MYRTLE BEACH, SC (WBTW) – Myrtle Beach city leaders talked with the new president of the Ocean Merchant Association Tuesday about Mayor John Rhodes’ plan to close down Ocean Boulevard.
The president of the organization, Chris Walker, told council he would be willing to try the mayor’s plan to close down the boulevard as long as it wasn’t for a long period of time.
Some council members voiced their opinions on the issue claiming closing the boulevard could cause “a traffic nightmare”.
They said in the past when Ocean Boulevard was closed for a weekend, council received several complaints.
The mayor says his hope is that if people park their cars and walk down to the boulevard, they are more likely to stop and shop in the shops.
The city manager John Pederson says the proposal is part of an even bigger plan the city has been working on for years.
“You know, a prospect that’s been out there for a long time is just making the whole area more pedestrian friendly. I think the Mayor would like to experiment that with closing Ocean Boulevard and making it very pedestrian friendly, making it pedestrian intensive for certain events,” said Pederson.
Pederson says they would look at closing the boulevard for special events, but they plan to discuss any other plans in their monthly meeting with OMA,
