Bicyclists in North Myrtle Beach may have to keep their bikes off the sand during the day in the summertime if city council decides they are a safety concern.
The topic appeared on the council's agenda at its most recent meeting, but was tabled. Council plans to discuss the item in a workshop setting. Council voted to not discuss the possible ordinance until a public workshop because “council thought it should be brought up one more time,” councilman J.O. Baldwin III said during the Dec. 5 meeting.
“Tonight, we had a lot of residents calling in wondering what was going on. Everybody kind of seemed to have forgotten about this. We had talked about this earlier on in the summertime,” he said.
The proposed amendment to an ordinance would ban bicycles on public beaches from May 15 to Sept. 15 between 9:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m., according to public documents. The proposed change seeks to ban the use of “bicycles, tricycles or similar human, gas, or electric powered wheeled vehicles."
The amendment would also ban those two-wheel vehicles on dunes or dune areas.
Documents state that bicycles and electric bikes on the beach are a safety concern.
“Realizing the recreational opportunities all bicycles offer, staff does not want to totally exclude citizens from using them on the beach,” the document reads.
The city posted on their website and on social media on May 18, 2022, that e-bikes are no longer allowed on the beach.
The post cited the ordinance that motor vehicles “of any nature or description” are prohibited on beaches, with the exception of government and emergency vehicles.
Riding horses “or any other animal” on North Myrtle Beach public beaches is also always prohibited.
Kelly and Eric Williams, owners of Myrtle Beach Electric Bikes, are concerned about the amendment’s mention of “electric powered wheeled vehicles.”
“I think all bikes should be restricted from the beach during peak times. We don’t want our clients on the beach when it’s busy. It’s just as dangerous for them,” Kelly Williams said. “But the city added these words in, ‘electric powered wheeled vehicles,’ and what that did was it created huge speculation amongst the residents of North Myrtle Beach that handicapped people cannot be on the beach because they can not use their powered wheelchairs.”
The city of North Myrtle Beach does not have the authority to ban wheelchairs on the beach.
“Persons who are handicapped and who customarily use motorized wheelchairs or motorized carts for locomotion shall not be prohibited from using such wheelchairs or carts on the strand of the seacoast of this State,” South Carolina state laws read.
The city’s Beaches and Waterways ordinance mentions disabled people’s rights. “This section in no way prohibits rights conferred upon the handicapped in accordance with South Carolina Code Annotated, Section 43-33-25 (1976 as amended),” the proposed ordinance reads.
In the city of Myrtle Beach, a similar beach biking ordinance is already in place.
“The use of bicycles, tricycles or similar human, gas, or electric powered wheeled vehicles is prohibited from the hours of 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. from May 1 up to and including Labor Day on the public beach, except as where otherwise lawfully permitted,” the Myrtle Beach ordinance reads.
Kelly and Eric Williams say they are hoping to resolve public confusion related to the amendment by attending the public workshop to express their concerns that the ordinance’s wording may confuse the public.
The North Myrtle Beach public workshop to discuss the amendment has not yet been scheduled.
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