Surfside Beach Mayor Allen Deaton is an optimist, even about the month of May.
The motorcycle rallies get "a lot of attention and hype, but they are three weeks," he said. "Is a three-week period going to devastate us? No. Is it going to devastate Myrtle Beach? No. There’s still 100 days of summer."
Myrtle Beach’s helmet law and other anti-rally ordinances have taken effect; the 68-year-old Carolina Harley-Davidson Dealers’ Association Rally is moving to New Bern, N.C.; and Atlantic Beach appears willing to consider altering its Memorial Day weekend Bikefest to get assistance from neighboring municipalities
In truth, no one knows what to expect this May.
"I wish I had a crystal ball," said Mike Shank, owner of Festival Promotions, who promotes the 10-day Harley-Davidson Cruisin’ the Coast Spring Rally that, over the past decade, has grown larger than the original four-day dealers’ rally.
Deaton said he has heard room reservations are down 40 percent to 50 percent in the Garden City Beach-Surfside Beach area and that some beachfront rental houses have had cancellations.
"It looks like what Myrtle Beach has done has been effective," he said.
What Myrtle Beach did was this: After years of hearing residents’ complain about lewd behavior, reckless driving, noise, increased crime and litter, the city devised a set of 15 laws and amendments designed to curb some behaviors associated with the May rallies.
The city made a curfew for minors, outlawed skipping out of a restaurant without paying your bill, required bars to crack down on trouble or close at 2 a.m., banned impromptu parties in parking lots, and set a decibel limit for non-emergency motor vehicles that many modified motorcycles cannot meet.
Most controversially, the city approved a local helmet law that requires all drivers and riders on motorcycles and scooters to wear proper protective headgear and eyewear while inside city limits or get a ticket and pay a $100 fine.
"There will be people who will avoid Myrtle Beach, but people who wear helmets anyway probably won’t care," Shank said.
North Myrtle Beach Mayor Marilyn Hatley said she lives at the north end of her city, near the N.C. line, and sees people riding with helmets all the time because N.C. has a statewide helmet law.
"I think Myrtle Beach is still going to get its share of bikers – most of them are accustomed to wearing helmets anyway," Hatley said.
Many people agree the departure of the dealers association rally will have a minimal impact on the area this year. It never expanded beyond four or five days, and it had actually shrunk over the past few years as it was enveloped by the larger Cruisin’ the Coast event.
Because Horry County voted to cut the number of vendors allowed to come and the length of a permit, the whole Harley rally could be shorter and smaller this year. Shank said some people will still come for 10 days and others have said they aren’t coming at all.
Atlantic Beach
The Carolina dealers, the Myrtle Beach promoters and the city of Myrtle Beach have all staked out their positions on May, but Atlantic Beach’s plans are still a work in progress. The Town Council recently voted 3-1 to enter a mutual aid agreement with Myrtle Beach, North Myrtle Beach and Horry County that would bring a wide variety of aid into the small town, but also contains language urging Atlantic Beach to stop promoting the festival.
Exactly what that means is still being worked out, said Atlantic Beach Town Manager Kenneth McIver. He said a helmet law in Atlantic Beach seems unlikely, but the town may choose not to allow vendors or alcohol.
Crowds of bikers may well come even without an official festival, so Atlantic Beach is still requesting a large police presence to maintain order. The town will probably have to adopt a traffic plan, just to keep vehicles moving, McIver said.
"If they still want to all come into a four-block town, congestion would ensue," McIver said.
North Myrtle Beach City Manager John Smithson said his city’s main concern during the Bikefest is controlling the U.S. 17 traffic around Atlantic Beach. For now, Smithson said the city is planning to start with about the same level of police as in previous years, but may reduce it if fewer people than average show up.
One possible concern is that bikers from both rallies avoiding Myrtle Beach and Ocean Boulevard could choose to congregate in North Myrtle Beach or Atlantic Beach.
"In some ways, you won’t know until it does happen," Smithson said.
Wait-and-see approach
The Daytona Beach, Fla., rally ends today, and Shank said once it’s over, he’ll have a better idea of how many vendors plan to show up this year.
Tom Herron, who is helping coordinate a pro-rally group called Business Owners Organized to Save Tourism, said that in hopes of salvaging some business, the group is paying for banner planes over the Daytona Beach Bike Week with the message, "May is on: Myrtle Beach," while some members of the group even traveled to Daytona to pass out their own fliers to bikers there.
"A lot of [bikers] look forward to this every year as the most fun thing they do. If they know they can still come here and have a good time, they’re still going to come," Herron said.
The group’s posters already caught the eye of Kevin Kilian, senior vice president at the Daytona-Halifax Area Chamber of Commerce.
Daytona’s Bike Week appeared to start strong despite the economy, Kilian said: Some hoteliers even told him they had more reservations than last year.
"We’re the first major rally of the year," Kilian said. "That’s a definite advantage to us."
Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Brad Dean said he expects May business to be down compared to previous years.
"The economy is limiting spring travel, so we would have seen softer May revenues regardless of changes pertaining to the rallies," Dean said.
Atlantic Beach’s decision could play an important role, but they are not the sole Bikefest sponsor, he noted.
"There are other promoters who profit from these events, and as long as other entities continue to actively promote bike rally events that weekend, we do not expect the event will disappear altogether," Dean said.
Dean said he thinks it will take a few years for nonbiker visitors to return during May, but he already has had "numerous inquiries" from people who want to bring their families.
"Most will take a wait-and-see approach in 2009 before visiting here in May," Dean said.
Some cities are making plans to try to replace the visitors they anticipate will be lost this year. In Atlantic Beach, for example, the Bikefest has a family-reunion style atmosphere that sharply contrasts with more youthful revelry on Myrtle Beach’s Ocean Boulevard. If the Bikefest ends, McIver said the town will seek to re-create that feeling in a new festival.
Myrtle Beach is working on its new Military Days festival, which is scheduled for the weekend before Memorial Day and will feature three days of sporting events, family activities, honor ceremonies and more for military families from the states immediately surrounding South Carolina.
And Surfside Beach is holding a classic car show on Memorial Day weekend, Deaton said, which could draw many families.
"That’s just one example of things people could do to help get through this transition time," he said.
Contact LORENA ANDERSON at 444-1722.
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