Business group calls for Myrtle Beach to end safety checkpoints
Business Owners Organized to Save Tourism (BOOST) is calling for the City of Myrtle Beach to end safety checkpoints.
According to a press release from the group, they have expressed outrage and disappointment at the City’s decision to embark on a series of traffic checkpoints during this week’s Spring Harley-Davidson Motorcycle Rally.
“We’ve asked the City to reconsider its decision and to discontinue these roadblocks effective immediately,” said BOOST spokesperson Tom Herron. “For motorist of all kinds, not just bikers, these heavy-handed Gestapo-like tactics are shameful.”
“Considering the devastating twofold economic tsunami that businesses are facing – a major worldwide recession and the City’s decision to pull up the welcome mat to hundreds of thousands of bikers – our members are in a state of shock,” Herron continued. “The Visitor and Tourism Information page on The City’s official website proclaims ‘We’re glad you’re here!’ but their actions speak much louder than words. We’re not challenging the City’s legal right to set up these roadblocks, we’re challenging their moral obligation to support our community. The timing is anything but coincidental. By their own admission, this is the first time they’ve done so during the Spring Rally.”
BOOST members have been reporting that business is down all week because of the small number of bikers attending the Rally. “We have hotel members who are looking at bookings worse than February.” Herron continued, “Business is not just off, its way off. Some report 70% fewer room nights booked than last year at this time. And it’s not just hotels and so-called ‘biker-bars,’ but popular establishments like Studebakers who are reeling from the effects of this blitzkrieg against motorcyclist. With so many bikers avoiding the City limits and so few bikers visiting the Strand, we’re amazed that they chose this additional step to further alienate people from visiting this beautiful vacation spot.”
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Reader Reactions
That is what we bikers wanted to happen. We were willing to negotiate with Myrtle Beach to save the rally but the Mayor was not willing to even try. His little side kick Mike Chestnuts is the one that blamed the Coastal College kid’s murder on the bikers when in fact it was a local Myrtle Beach High School Hoodlums, and they never did apologize for blaming the motorcycle tourist. The anti rally people put on their pink tee shirts and came up with some silly slogans and one thing they said was no more mayhem. So we came up with the idea of Boycott and Mayhem. What an original idea. And since the 60 miles of the Grand Strand is such a great place and has been the home of the Harley events for around 70 years, we would not go away, but we would stop spending money in side Myrtle Beach City limits. So now we are still here having a great time and only a handful of posers are spending money in Myrtle Beach. So only the seedy little ghost town in the middle knows as Murder Beach is hurting. To bad their business people did not do a lot more a lot sooner to stop their out of control politicians. They call them selves’ town leaders, but so far all they are doing is leading their town straight to the poor house. And we bikers are having a great time with out Murder Beach. The Grand Strand Rocks on without Murder Beach.
WE ARE FROM FLORENCE AREA.WE SPEND ON AN AVERAGE AROUND 1200.00,DURING BIKE WEEK EACH YEAR.IT IS OBVIOUS TO US,THAT MYRTLE BEACH NO LONGER WANTS BIKERS.TO TOP IT OFF,THEY ARE HAVING CHECKPOINTS ON THE BLVD.IT IS MORE CLEAR NOW.WE WILL JUST MAKE SURE TO TAKE OUR MONEY TO THE OTHER BEACHES,AND NOT PUT UP WITH THE BS THAT IS IN MB..NO PROBLEM,THE OTHER BEACHES ARE JUST AS NICE AND NO CRAP,TO PUT UP WITH.WE WILL NOT SPEND A DIME IN MYRTLE BEACH,,NOT A DIME!!
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