Myrtle Beach drivers may encounter a police traffic checkpoint while out and about on Market Common on Friday night from 6 to 10 p.m.
Myrtle Beach Police Department spokesman Randolph Angotti told the Sun-News he did not know which specific streets the checkpoints will be on in the public area of the market.
The initiative will be conducted in conjunction with neighboring law enforcement agencies.
“There’s a roving team that works together, and that’s North Myrtle Beach, Horry County and the Myrtle Beach Police Department,” Angotti said. “This is just a team of Horry County law enforcement agencies working together to conduct these activities.”
Police said officers will focus on driver license violations, impaired driving, vehicle registration and insurance compliance.
Traffic violations and suspected bomb-making materials
Friday’s traffic checkpoint came four days after a driver was stopped by police on Southern Ocean Boulevard and arrested and charged with possession of methamphetamine, simple possession of marijuana, driving while suspended, failure to dim headlights and operating an uninsured motor vehicle.
Officers found firearms, gunpowder and “possible bomb-making materials” during a search of a Darlington man’s car, according to police.
However, police said the arrests did not affect Friday’s checkpoints.
“It requires a lot more coordination than just a few days, coordinating multiple agencies to set up a checkpoint and provide the manpower for the police to be able to complete the mission at that time,” Angotti said.
Ordinary market traffic
Police deny that Market Common was chosen as a traffic checkpoint for any particular reason, but rather as a regular practice.
“We’re doing these in different areas of the city and just making sure that we’re covering all of the major arteries in the city to make sure that anyone who drives a motor vehicle in those areas all year round can do so safely,” Angotti said.
But in recent years, Market Common’s transportation practices have drawn the city’s attention. Last April, the city lowered the speed limit on Farrow Parkway from 35 mph to 30 mph after residents complained about dangerous driving at community meetings.
Under the new speed limit, some in the area are continuing to push for a 25 mph speed limit. This year, the Myrtle Beach City Council introduced a motion to create a traffic calming plan on Farrow Avenue.
“The idea here is that over a year ago, about a year ago, residents asked to lower the speed limit in the downtown area of Farrow Parkway Market Common. The city lowered the speed limit to 30, but the speeding continues,” Mayor Mark Kruea said in January.
