North Myrtle Beach Public Parking Update

The City of North Myrtle Beach will soon identify and hire a consultant or consulting firm versed in traffic engineering and public parking in oceanfront cities dependent on tourism.

The consultant will work to develop a short-term parking plan for North Myrtle Beach for the primary 2019 tourism season and a long-term parking plan that will identify and project public parking needs for the next five to ten years, resulting in a phased plan that takes into account projected costs and potential funding sources.

In developing short-term and long-term public parking plans, the consultant will solicit input from City Council, City management, residents, property owners, business owners and visitors. The consultant will hold interactive workshops, during which members of the public can contribute their ideas for potential parking solutions and identify their concerns.

The consultant will also help the City to assess the benefits or lack thereof of “free” and “paid” parking, and their potential impacts on residents, property owners, business owners, and visitors.

The City’s goal is to emerge from this process having achieved reasonable, practical short-term and long-term public parking plans.

IN THE MEANTIME, THESE THINGS WILL ALSO OCCUR:

-- Until further notice, parking is prohibited in the median along Ocean Boulevard.

-- Traffic cones currently lining the edges of the median along Ocean Boulevard will be removed and “No Parking” signs will be installed in the median.

-- From June 27, 2018, onward, no person may place an obstruction of any kind in a public right-of-way in the city of North Myrtle Beach. Obstructions placed in a public right-of-way on and after June 27, 2018 will be removed. To determine the width of a public right-of-way along a roadway, please contact the North Myrtle Beach Public Works Department at 843-280-5500.

-- The City will begin to address obstructions that property owners have placed in public rights-of-way citywide prior to June 27, 2018, initially focusing on privately erected "no parking" signs and other easily removable obstructions. City personnel will communicate directly with each property owner to explain why and when obstructions must be removed.

-- The City will wait until its consultant has reviewed available and potential parking locations before addressing other larger obstructions that property owners have placed in public rights-of-way.