OCEAN CITY — With the arrival of the unsanctioned pop-up car rally in Ocean City, the resort’s message is for visitors to just stay away and for residents to avoid the roadways.
It appears counterintuitive for leaders in a resort town and tourist destination to discourage visitors during a beautiful week of weather, but that is the message as attendees began arriving Monday for the pop-up car rally, formerly known as H2O International. For the last several years, the unsanctioned pop-up car rally, which is largely organized on social media, has brought with it illicit behavior, reckless and dangerous driving and general lawlessness.
The Town of Ocean City in recent years has been overrun with illegal activity. This year, however, town officials, the Ocean City Police Department (OCPD) and its allied law enforcement agencies and the designated motorized special events task force appears more prepared than ever with a strengthened special enforcement zone legislation, hundreds of law enforcement officers, new traffic patterns including speed bumps in some areas and a series of other initiatives in place.
The checklist is thorough and appears to have left no stone unturned. Nonetheless, the message from the town and the OCPD this week was for residents and visitors not associated with the motorized event to avoid the roadways and stay away altogether if possible. In the video statement this week, Mayor Rick Meehan essentially said as much.
“Due to the pop-up car rally, this upcoming weekend is not going to be a typical fall weekend at the beach,” he said. “We encourage our residents to avoid traveling on Coastal Highway if possible because traffic is going to be unusually heavy. In addition, we urge our visitors seeking a family-friendly experience to visit Ocean City for another weekend.”
In the statement, Meehan vowed the town was as prepared as ever for the unsanctioned pop-up car rally, but urged residents and other visitors to do their part by avoiding certain known trouble spots.
“We pride ourselves on being a coastal community that everyone can enjoy year-round,” he said. “Unfortunately, we are asking everyone to please exercise caution before deciding to visit Ocean City this weekend.”
OCPD Chief Ross Buzzuro issued his own video statement this week and echoed the mayor’s sentiments. Buzzuro said the OCPD and its allied partners were more prepared than ever for the event this year with the series of initiatives.
“I know there is a lot of concern from our residents and visitors about the pop-up rally happening this upcoming weekend,” he said. “We have worked tirelessly over the last year to find solutions to the challenges we face during this weekend.”
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.
“One great accomplishment of the last year was the new special event zone legislation,” Buzzuro said this week. “Along with enhanced fees and penalties, we now have the ability to make arrests for the most egregious violations under the new legislation.”
Buzzuro also referenced the increase in the number of police officers on the streets this weekend along with the planned and implemented traffic pattern changes and other initiatives.
“Our residents and visitors can expect to see several hundred police officers working throughout the pop-up rally weekend,” he said. “We will be implementing several different traffic patterns. However, where and when will be a fluid situation. There will be major obstructions to traffic and it will be uncomfortable.”
In perhaps the strongest language in his video statement, Buzzuro urged residents, visitors and non-resident property owners to simply stay away this weekend if possible.
“We want to remind our community, and I can’t stress this enough, if you don’t have business in town or a need to drive in town, then don’t,” he said. “Avoid doing so this weekend. For those that will be in Ocean City during this time period, we ask that you respect our community and obey all laws. If you witness any illegal activities during the event, please do not hesitate to call the police. Our number one priority is the safety of everyone in Ocean City. Let’s work together to keep our community safe.”
A big part of the ramped-up preparations for the pop-up car rally this weekend was better communication and community outreach. To that end, Communications Director and Acting Tourism Director Jessica Waters has been working with the Greater Ocean City Chamber of Commerce, the Hotel-Motel-Restaurant Association and other groups to get a unified message out to visitors about what to expect this weekend.
Included in the outreach efforts was an emailed letter that went out to prospective visitors this week outlining some of the new initiatives and advising their visit this week will likely be impacted by the changes.
“Thank you for choosing to stay with us,” the letter reads. “We can’t wait to welcome you to Ocean City and look forward to your upcoming visit. As you prepare for your stay, we want to make you aware of a large motor event coming to town this weekend. The event is expected to bring excessive noise and increased traffic which may impact your Ocean City experience.”
The letter points out the pop-up car rally is not and has never been sanctioned by the town.
“Please understand this is not a town-sanctioned event and Ocean City does not authorize the actions planned by the social media organizers,” the letter reads. “Our number one priority is the safety of our visitors and the town will be implementing several measures in order to keep you and our community safe.”
The letter essentially reminds visitors to enjoy the amenities they always do in Ocean City, but that the experience will be impacted by the event.
“As always, we want our visitors to have the best experience possible in Ocean City and enjoy everything our beloved beach town has to offer,” the letter reads. “We pride ourselves on being a coastal community that families of all ages can enjoy year-round, but we ask you to exercise caution when visiting the weekend of September 25-28.”
Enhanced Special Event Zone Legislation
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.
More Cops Than Ever Before
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 week. However, the team will be enhanced by extra officers from other jurisdictions.
The OCPD will be joined this weekend by officers from the Maryland State Police, the Worcester County Sheriff’s Office, the Maryland Transportation Authority, Maryland Natural Resources Police, the Wicomico County Sheriff’s Office and the Queen Anne’s County Sheriff’s Office among others.
In addition, the Worcester County Commissioners have 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.
Altered Traffic Patterns
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. 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.
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.
Towing Ordinance Strengthened
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 Mayor and Council earlier this month approved a series of code amendments that add more teeth to the towing ordinance. One change 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 to $900. 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.
Enhancing the towing ordinance can only be successful if there are tow trucks available to handle the expected volume. 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. Roughly 30 tow companies have been lined up for this week including many from out of the area.
TEAP Gains Wide Support
Another tool in the toolbox 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, the OCPD is going into the pop-up rally weekend with roughly 150 local businesses signed up for TEAP.
