OCEAN CITY — When the smoke cleared and the dust settled after one of the more troublesome Cruisin’ Ocean City events in recent memory, resort officials this week were left pondering the future of the annual event.
The annual spring Cruisin’ Ocean City event draws thousands of registered classic car enthusiasts and their fans and an exponentially higher number of hangers-on who piggyback on the sanctioned event. The intent of the event created 27 years ago was to bolster the shoulder season and bring visitors into the resort and three decades later, it has clearly achieved the desired results.
To be sure, Cruisin’ Ocean City puts heads in beds and backsides in restaurant seats to a large degree and creates one of the busiest weekends of the year, but there is a quality of life cost associated with the obvious economic benefit. While most of the 3,000-plus registered attendees participate in the officially sanctioned events such as the Boardwalk parade and the car shows at the Inlet and other locations, a far greater number of hangers-on race up and down resort streets, peel out and leave rubber on the roadways and smoke and fumes lingering in the ocean air, and line the sidewalks with beach chairs and watch the displays with coolers and open containers of alcohol.
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23 comments:
WOW I believe that is called being a "resort hot spot".....City can choose between revenue of tourist or surviving off taxes paid by those who live there year round.....or look at other successful hot spots like Myrtle Beach, Virginia Beach and Outer Banks everyone else seems to thrive off the revenue!!!!
My guess is that they'll ask the organizers to move it to an earlier week when there's less people in town.
It will also be easier to police.
I also think that they will publicize a "zero tolerance" policy on lawbreakers, and enforce it heavily.
Except for the scofflaws, it really is a fun convention, but something certainly needs to be done.
Gee...thats specific. Way to articulate a well thought out plan for the citizens. Glad we elected you to be our leader.
It's seems funny how the events that put money into Ocean City during the slow months and helped make the town what it is today are now a bad thing. I have an answer to the problem. Arrest the people that are breaking the law and fine the crap out of them. Tow their cars and make them pay through the nose to get them back. I'm not a motor head but I do like to see the classics. What more can a town expect with bars and clubs on just about every corner. Lots of bars = lots of drunken idiots.
Be careful not to bite the hand that feeds you....
That's because they can control the chaos. OC afraid to upset all the Yankees.
Nope. Long time resident.
My opinion. The place is a hell hole. Who cares.
+1 on that.
3:18 Ditto
I agree. Faimly resort is a joke. White trash and thugs.
Would NEVER vacation in OC. Carolina is more relaxed, fun and safe. OC blew it by chasing the almighty dollar!
2:49 RIGHT ON!
(1) Thursday was very quiet with a weather front approaching to "cool" things off.
(2) Friday's parade down the boardwalk was just like other years - slow as the cars made their way into the inlet. A very brisk wind was coming from the South, but not as warm as Wed/Thurs. Now, 1st sign of trouble was made by OCEAN CITY and NOT the cars with the power outage on the south end began in the LATE morning (not afternoon as mentioned in the paper) many boardwalk shops shut their doors before noon-time and the lights along coastal highway from 30th street south were OFF. If you were on a side street well, best you parked and huffed it to the inlet parking lot. Convention center was PACKED all day, however in the afternoon the inlet parking lot was empty in the middle part and by 3pm, everyone was hitting the road to go eat. About that same time, down around 5th-8th street someone decided to do a nice burnout (south on coastal highway), lost control and hit a telephone poll head on perfect. Both occupants hit the windshield and had to be flown to a hospital. Sad, the need for speed ended up reckless. Nice beautiful car, hope those folks made it.
(3) Saturday I got out on the road at 730am and it looked like a Saturday midday moving day during the summer. Cars everywhere heading south. By 10am coastal highway was a parking lot from mid 100's as far south as one could see. If you had to go south, figure an hour for 30 streets. Heading north was ok, but what goes SOUTH always heads NORTH and that changeover started about 430pm for dinner and maybe watching the Preakness. Rest of the night through 11:30pm, traffic north was very heavy. As the person in the story mentioned, I could hear lots of noise after midnight up until 2am in the morning and I live on the bayside about 1/2 mile from coastal highway. The noise is very familiar to the constant hum one hears during bike week.
I don't know a solution to Cruising weekend, which is many years old and well known to many who are OLD. Emphasis is on old because most who do come are gray-beards with pockets of $$$$$. Its the younger generation with their attempts at cars (and every trucks) to show off and feel that reckless need for speed. Unlike the person in the story, I saw very FEW LEOs this weekend from OCPD. I saw local county sheriff's; MD State police in unmarked and motorcycles - EVER saw a Pocomoke Sheriff's SUV. LEO's were on the boards and some streets - but are we still short handed going into the season? Not to knock our very hard working LEOs, but it seems its the same every May timeframe. Last year's cruising was short because it rained all day Saturday so most left Friday/Sat morning. This year - perfect weather.
I don't think a new date will work. They tried that with the unofficial H20i...and those folks still come to OC. Hell we even a Jeep day when they travel south along the beach to the inlet.
Goes back to what 2:49pm mention. Be careful biting that hand which ABSOLUTELY feeds you!
When me and my wife found out it was cruising weekend, we turned around and headed to Delaware. It might be fun for young kids but us old farts are too old for that crap now.
We want your money but we don't want to have to put up with your white trash ways. Can you just send us a check next year and keep your asses back in PA?
Never go to that hell hole for over 30 years. They have not been a "family " resort for at least that long I say no more "cruisin" and no more "bike" week. Let them lose those million dollar events and then the council and business owners will be begging for their return. I will still attend these events out of state and enjoy them even more not having these cry babies trying to tell everybody else how to relax and enjoy life. Who would want to promote anything in OC with the high expense they have to occur before they make a profit.
Live here, hate crusin weekend, hate motorcycle gang weekend. Throngs of rowdy rednecks, mostly from our states to the north since they migrated away from trashy NJ beaches and are now trashing ours. Locals have begged this mayor to do away with both events. Now it has finally sunk in his head that we can do without these events. And we headed to Salisbury to stay with our daughter. Really bad when you have to vacate your home for this stuff.
OC, NJ has a very nice beach and boardwalk. No bars. You have to pay to go on the beach which keeps the trashy people away. Very family friendly. I bet they are flocking to OC, MD to enjoy a ghetto weekend in MD.
I thought it went pretty well, considering. No one will ever be able to stop the young "wannabes? participating in the event, I have really not been aware of any off kilter actions of the fest.
8:05 is right. OC NJ is a dry town. I've spent a lot of time there. Very little crime. It remains quiet and peaceful even during the busy months. And guess what....the people and families love it there. They don't call OC MD the Redneck Riviera for nothing. What say you Layton Moore and John Fager. I equate Wildwood NJ to OC MD. The people on the Jersey Shore call Wildwood the South Philly Lilly beach.
Retired, plenty of cash to spend, vacationing where it is quiet and peaceful. Leaving home (OC) in the summer and heading home in the fall. Can't rent out the house because the idiots trash everything and it isn't worth it. Almost seems like time to get rid of the house and the taxes. Hate to do it...but it has really come to that.
I can get that bunch out of OC PDQ.My methods are harsh,but the big bad tire squealers are adults & will realize that resistance is futile.
All I see are ghetto thugs hanging out in the benches.
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