MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (WMBF) - Grand Strand drivers are now about a month away from seeing a big but temporary change to their daily commutes.

At a City of Myrtle Beach Human Rights Commission meeting on Thursday, a handful of Myrtle Beach agencies presented the city’s Memorial Day Weekend Safety Plan.

Memorial Day is typically one of the busiest weekends here along the Grand Strand. Not only is it considered the unofficial start to the summer season, but several events like Bike Fest kick off.

This year, traffic along Ocean Boulevard will be reduced to a single lane, pushing all traffic southbound to help with emergency vehicles.

Myrtle Beach Emergency Management Coordinator Travis Glatki said it’s typically an all-hands-on-deck season, but having this plan in place since 2022 has helped, as he tells me they’re seeing a decrease in calls for service and car crashes.

“Which is a good thing because we have a lot more people are coming into town throughout the year than we have in years past,” Glatki said. “We spoke with the Myrtle Beach International Airport, and they’re already predicting record-breaking numbers over the next couple of years. So, we have to take that into account.”

Glatki said they’ve seen success over the past three years since they’ve implemented the safety plan.

Despite the city’s optimism about its Memorial Day preparations, some visitors like Pat Fink aren’t convinced it’ll pay off.

Fink said he only sees one benefit to narrowing traffic on one of Myrtle Beach’s busiest roads.

“It didn’t seem to work the last time I was here. I don’t know if it was beneficial in any way. The crashes would decrease because you’re going one to two miles an hour,” Fink explained. “So, it’s kind of hard to crash when you’re not moving.

Glatki added that the new traffic plan is set to kick off on May 23 and last through Memorial Day.