MYRTLE BEACH, SC (WBTW) – Myrtle Beach city leaders plan to discuss another ordinance they say will help keep people safe on Ocean Boulevard and around the city.
The city says it’s an effort to keep people from gathering in the streets and blocking sidewalks.
Myrtle Beach City Spokesperson Mark Kruea says the sidewalks aren’t big enough for the number of visitors, and a new ordinance would keep people from stopping, sitting down, lying down or anything else that could block the walking path.
Ocean Boulevard has been a hot topic in Myrtle Beach since a string of shootings in mid-June. Since a shooting on Ocean Boulevard was broadcast on Facebook Live, the City of Myrtle Beach has made a number of changes, including increased police force, lining Ocean Boulevard with barricades, installing LED street lights, and altering the juvenile curfew to begin one hour earlier.
In the video that shows the Ocean Boulevard shooting that injured seven people, a large crowd is seen moving slowly down the sidewalk, and at times, spilling into the street in front of cars.
“The public has an expectation of safety,” says Kruea. “Sidewalks are there to be walked upon. We already have anti-loitering for harmful intent, prostitution or drug dealing, this would just make it illegal to block or obstruct a sidewalk or other passageway.”
A new ordinance city council will vote on Tuesday would prohibit anyone from blocking, sitting, or lying down on a sidewalk. While the city’s spokesperson says the ordinance isn’t a direct reaction to the recent violence, it is part of city council’s new plan to keep people safe.
“The sidewalks are from a different era,” explains Kruea. “So, they’re not quite as wide as they need to be. So, any obstruction of a sidewalk would impede traffic flow.”
Kruea says city leaders are also looking to make it illegal city-wide for people to stand in the road or on the sidewalk to ask for money. If passed, blocking the side walk or panhandling in the City of Myrtle Beach could mean a $500 fine and or 30 days in jail.
“Expanding the panhandling ordinance city-wide addresses a number of complaints we get,” justifies Kruea. “People say, ‘look, I’m not comfortable when somebody approaches me on a sidewalk or in a public place and asks for money.’ That’s not a safe feeling.”
And it’s that very feeling of safety that Kruea says visitors and residents of Myrtle Beach deserve when they’re walking or traveling down Ocean Boulevard.
Myrtle Beach City Council will vote on the ordinances Tuesday in their city council meeting. The meeting will be at 2 p.m. at the Ted C. Collins Law Enforcement Center, located at 1101 North Oak Street.
