OCEAN CITY — If Ocean City experiences the same raucous behavior and lawlessness typically seen during the unsanctioned pop-up car rally later this month, it won’t be because the town was unprepared.
The motorized vehicle special event task force reconvened on Thursday for the last time before the pop-up car rally expected during the last weekend in September, followed by the Endless Summer Cruisin event in October, and it appears on the surface the town has all of its ducks in a row. The task force was formed a few years back to begin exploring strategies to address some of the lawlessness and abject bad behavior associated with some of the participants.
On Thursday, Ocean City Police Department (OCPD) Chief Ross Buzzuro, Mayor Rick Meehan and task force members went through an itemized checklist of the initiatives planned for the pop-up car rally formerly referred to as H2Oi and the tamer fall cruising event. The checklist is thorough and appears to have left no stone unturned, from enhanced special enforcement zone legislation to a stronger, and potentially costlier towing ordinance to even more police officers from allied law enforcement agencies outside the area.
A few years back, the town of Ocean City and its representatives in Annapolis were successful in getting state legislation passed that authorizes the creation of a special event zone complete with reduced speed limits and stronger fines, among other things. The first iteration of the special event zone bill was successful somewhat in curbing the illicit behavior associated with the motorized vehicle special events, but lacked real teeth to provide a deterrent for some of the unruliest participants.
To that end, resort officials went back to Annapolis last year and got an enhanced special event zone through the General Assembly. Among other things, the improved bill creates a list of violations under the larger umbrella of “exhibition driving.” For the first time in the evolution of the special event zone legislation, the enhanced penalties now include potential arrest along with the heavy fines and points.
“We do have the ability to make arrests for the most egregious violations,” said Buzzuro. “As we all know, it doesn’t take much to rise to the level of egregious.”
For years, the OCPD has relied on its allied law enforcement neighbors to provide support during certain motorized special events and that will be the case again this year. However, Buzzuro said the team will be enhanced by extra officers from other jurisdictions. In addition, the Worcester County Commissioners this week authorized a mutual aid agreement with the OCPD allowing for county correctional officers and vehicles to be on hand during the event to help handle arrestees.
“We’ll have several hundred police officers working during the high points of the pop-up rally,” he said. “In addition to the Worcester County Sheriff’s Office and the Maryland State Police, we will have officers from the Queen Anne’s County and Wicomico County Sheriff’s Offices. Needless to say, it will be saturated.”
Perhaps the biggest change this year, although the details are rather cryptic at this point and rightfully so, are planned changes in traffic patterns to eliminate or minimize the disruptive behavior.
“There are going to be obstructions to normal traffic patterns,” he said. “We will be implementing several different traffic maneuvers, although when and where is kind of a fluid situation. There will be major obstructions to traffic and it will be uncomfortable. If you don’t have business in town, or don’t need to be in town, it’s probably a good idea just to stay away.”
Of course, the planned obstructions and other traffic alterations will have to be endured by residents and visitors not associated with the motorized events, but the inconvenience might be a small price to pay if they are successful.
“In order to mitigate a lot of problems, there are going to be disruptions for all of us,” said Meehan. “Our residents and visitors will know in advance and we will keep getting that message out.”
Also, for the first time in the history of the motorized special events in the resort, the OCPD and its allied partners will deploy speed bumps in certain areas during the events this fall. The issue has been raised in the past, particularly for some of the low-riding vehicles in the pop-up car rally, but speed bumps will be deployed this year.
“Our residents and visitors have brought up speed bumps in the past,” said Buzzuro. “We will have speed bumps and speed humps strategically placed throughout town. We’ll get the word out to the community. It will be a fluid situation. They might be moved from one community to another during the events.”
Another new initiative for this year’s motorized special events is an enhanced towing ordinance, that will allow law enforcement to remove vehicles for a variety of reasons. The revised towing ordinance is expected to come before the Mayor and Council next week as an emergency ordinance, and the details are not known, suffice to say it should create another deterrent for the car enthusiasts.
“It will give us further depth in how we tow,” said Buzzuro. “The big difference is in the pricing. If a vehicle is deemed unsafe, it will have to be towed. It will have to be towed into the lot and towed out of the lot. It will be very costly.”
One change that is known, however, is if a vehicle is towed to the impound lot, it will have to be towed back out at the expense of the registered owner, essentially doubling the potential towing fees. Buzzuro said the OCPD has coordinated with the town’s Public Works department on an expanded impound lot near the Public Safety Building on the site of a piece of property acquired by the town last year roughly adjacent to the existing impound lot.
“We have a large area that is sufficient,” he said. “It’s a large area that will accommodate the tows, and we are expecting a large number of tows.”
Enhancing the towing ordinance can only be successful if there are tow trucks available to handle the expected volume. Buzzuro said arrangements have been made on that issue as well. Of course, there will likely be an abundance of tow trucks available to make the initial tows, but they might be less available to tow impounded vehicles back out.
“We have over 30 tow companies lined up,” he said. “It’s a combination of local companies and others from outside the area. They will be strategically placed and centralized. It’s a departure from how we’ve done things in the past.”
Another tool in the toolbox discussed this week is the OCPD’s Trespass Enforcement Authorization Program, or TEAP, in which property owners authorize law enforcement to come on their property, particularly when their businesses are closed, and enforce laws and resolve situations without them or their representatives present. After a rather tepid early sign-up period earlier this summer, Buzzuro said the response has now been incredible.
“We’ve seen overwhelming support for this program,” he said. “When this task force last met, we were at around 30 participants. We are now closing in on 150. That’s a big deal. That shows the level of partnership and support from the community. We will be able to police 150 properties when they are closed and that is significant.”
Of course, all the initiatives combined can only be effective if the town is able to get the word out about the changes, both to residents and visitors and event participants, and there is a plan in place for that as well.
Communications Manager and Acting Tourism Director Jessica Waters said there is now a whole section on the town’s website dedicated to motorized special events, the enhanced special event zone legislation and what it means and also frequently asked questions from residents and visitors and from event participants.
It’s essentially a one-stop shop for all questions and concerns about the motorized special events. In addition, Waters said a mailer will be sent out to all property owners outlining some of the changes and providing contact information.
“The question we often hear is why didn’t we know this was going on?” she said. “Everybody will know this is taking place, nobody will be caught off guard this time around.”
Also new this year from a communications standpoint is a hotline of sorts on which residents and visitors can call in to report incidents, or to get other information about the event in real time. Waters said she and other staff will be monitoring the hotline around the clock throughout the event.
“We’re going to have a joint information center during the event,” she said. “There will be a hotline in place where people can call if they have concerns. They won’t have to wait until Monday to get answers.”
