New barriers line the sidewalk on Ocean Boulevard in the central business district on Friday, Sept. 2, 2022. Photo by Janet Morgan/janet.morgan@myhorrynews.com

New barriers line the sidewalk on Ocean Boulevard in the central business district on Friday, Sept. 2, 2022. Photo by Janet Morgan/janet.morgan@myhorrynews.com

New barriers line the sidewalk on Ocean Boulevard in the central business district on Friday, Sept. 2, 2022. Photo by Janet Morgan/janet.morgan@myhorrynews.com

Myrtle Beach’s Ocean Boulevard is seeing an upgrade that could help with pedestrian and traffic safety.

From 7th Avenue North to 12th Avenue North, decorative railings are being installed to help prevent pedestrians from walking into the roadway, in turn making people cross Ocean Boulevard at the respective crosswalks.

“Ocean Boulevard is a very busy place,” said city spokesman Mark Kruea. “People want to be there. The sidewalks are relatively small so they do get congested.”

With that congestion comes pedestrians taking up the bike lanes on the boulevard, which Kruea said the city has received complaints about over the years.

“That shouldn’t happen,” he said. “So this will help define the spaces. That’s for pedestrians. That’s for vehicles. And it provides a very snazzy look to the boulevard.”

Installation of these railings began in late July and is expected to be completed by the end of September. Kruea said the project cost $1 million.

The decorative railings replace the removable pedestrian barricades the city has utilized for years.

The city began looking for a more permanent solution following a string of shootings on Ocean Boulevard in June 2017.

Master Cpl. Tom Vest with the Myrtle Beach Police Department said the plan for permanent railings was not a direct response to the violence in 2017 but rather it was designed with pedestrian safety in mind.

“The whole design is to keep vehicles and pedestrians separate,” Vest said. “They’re in response to the volume of pedestrian traffic and trying to drive the pedestrians to the right crossing areas.”

New barriers line the sidewalk on Ocean Boulevard in the central business district on Friday, Sept. 2, 2022. Photo by Janet Morgan/janet.morgan@myhorrynews.com

Vest added the location of the new railings also holds significance, describing the stretch of Ocean Boulevard between 7th Avenue North and 12th Avenue North as the area with the highest pedestrian traffic.

“The idea is you put them in the area where there’s the most pedestrian traffic,” he said. “It wouldn’t make that much of a difference at 38th and Ocean [Boulevard] because there’s not that many people walking around up there.”

He noted having these railings helps cut down potential gridlock traffic caused by pedestrians crossing in the middle of Ocean Boulevard.

“If you think about it, every time somebody steps out into the road, all the traffic stops,” Vest said.

While some of the busiest times for Myrtle Beach like Memorial Day and Fourth of July have passed, Vest said the railings have done the job so far.

“You can safely say people are crossing at the crosswalks because the barricades prevent them from crossing mid-block,” Vest said.

Kruea said while there could be a possibility to extend the railings down the boulevard, there are no such plans at this time.

Reach Ian Livingston Brooking at 843-248-6882 for any story ideas or news happening in your area.

Ian Livingston Brooking is the Myrtle Beach city government reporter for MyHorryNews. He is a graduate of Coastal Carolina University, where he received both a bachelors and masters degree in communications.

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