PDF Garden City Area Plan - Horry County Government

Expansion and Maintenance of Existing ParkingFacilities.The Garden City beach area boasts (13) total public beachaccess points with parking provisions ranging from marked,paved spaces to sand lot spaces with wheel stops. Although,most spaces are in good condition, all would benefit from aregular maintenance and revitalization program. Though thearea provides limited opportunities for the allocation of newparking facilities, there is potential for expansion in many ofthe lots that currently contain spaces.As each lot varies by size and the number of spaces, variablemethods may be used to achieve a modest overall increase inparking facilities. Some lots have room to add a small numberof additional spaces, while other lots appear to contain oversizedspaces that may be further subdivided to achieve a moreefficient use of the limited area. Numerous on-street parkingopportunities exist within the rights-of-way associated withthe side streets that run perpendicular to the entire length ofWaccamaw Drive. Further inspection of the available spacesshould be conducted in consultation with both the HorryCounty Engineering and Public Works Departments in orderto identify absolute potential and possible cost of parkingfacility expansion in the public realm.Ensuring the Efficient Use of Public Parking FacilitiesProper identification in conjunction with a comprehensivewayfinding program will ensure that all public parking spacesare marketed to the proper users. Besides making it easier forthe potential user to make the proper parking decisions, sucha program caneffectively complementthe function of otherparking options such as“park and ride” facilities.Whether operatedprivately or through apotential public-privatepartnership, such optionsmay relieve the pressureto accommodate increasing numbers of users in a finiteamount of parking facilities. The success of such a program,along with other pedestrian-oriented components, is entirelydependent on the users’ability to make their way to thedesired destination (beach access point) and back to theirrespective modes of transportation (parking lot).Additional pedestrian components such as sidewalks,crosswalks, bike racks, trash receptacles and golf cart spacesmay be utilized to enhance theeffectiveness of a multi-modalcirculation system that relievespressure on traditional parkingfacilities. If users feelcomfortable in theirengagement with thepublic/pedestrian realm, theymay be more inclined tochoose alternative circulationmethods such as bike or golfcart, or just walking to andfrom their vehicle or residence.part1.1P a r k i n g P l a n8