Officials will consider a special event zone for next year’s OC Bikefest event after a resort task force agreed this week to forward a favorable recommendation to the Mayor and Council.
While the Town of Ocean City has never enacted a special event zone for OC Bikefest, officials say they will now consider it after receiving several complaints from the public during this year’s motorcycle event. While acknowledging that police activity remained rather consistent this year, Ocean City Police Chief Ross Buzzuro told members of the Ocean City Motor Event Task Force Thursday that more could be done to improve public safety for future events.
“I think in the best interest of public safety moving forward we should strongly consider a special event zone, to at least lower a few speeds,” Buzzuro said. “If we can lower the number of accidents, it’s well worth it.”
Simply put, the special event zone – created in 2018 and improved in 2020 – allows the Town of Ocean City to reduce established speed limits and enhance penalties during the city’s motorized special events. The designation has been largely effective in curbing reckless and illegal driving and stopping the unsanctioned pop-up car rally that took over the resort in years past.
On Thursday, however, the city’s task force convened to discuss whether a special event zone was now needed for OC Bikefest. Several incidents during the event, including a hit-and-run incident that critically injured a local teen, resulted in community members calling on officials to implement the same designation it used during spring and fall Cruisin’ events.
“I know we had some perceived issues, but there were issues with Bikefest this year,” Mayor Rick Meehan said at the beginning of the task force meeting. “And I think it’s important that we have the chief address them, address the event, and address what recommendations he has moving forward.”
The “Special Event Zone” is not needed to be enacted for Bike Week. Bike Week does not fill the sidewalks and parking lots with spectators where they would be in more danger of bodily harm from 4 wheeled vehicles weighing thousands of pounds than from motorcycles of much much less weight.