OCEAN CITY, Md. -- The town of Ocean City made a few changes to the way they enforce unsanctioned pop up rallies. In particular, the enforcement for the pop up car rally that has caused a lot of trouble over the past few years.
According to Rick Meehan, Ocean Cities mayor, all of that trouble led the Ocean City Town Council to the General Assembly in Annapolis.
"We got legislation to establish a special event zone during specific time periods, where we would lower the speed limits and increase fines," said Meehan.
Meehan says being able to control and strictly enforce the speed limit, along with help from state agencies, went a long way to mitigating the issues caused by this pop up rally.
"When we were able to utilize all the tools we’ve been given, and with the help from allied agencies all over the state, we were really able to mitigate a number of problems," said Meehan. "It really began to turn the tide on this event."
Despite all of the chaos that follows these car enthusiasts, one business we spoke with, Bad Monkey, says they don't feel as if they've been affected.
"Aside from the traffic and getting in and out of town, I can’t really say the crowd has been too bad for the business," said Oana Casmire.
People we spoke with on the boardwalk, however, do find the pop up rally to be frustrating.
"This is a great time to come to the beach, uh, the weather’s nice the water’s warm, and then to have to worry about the pop up rallies and keeping your kids safe, it’s just a shame," said Marcus Queer.
One person we spoke with was unaware of what the pop up rally was, but after learning a few details about prior years, he's happy him and his family are heading out of town before this weekend.
"Well from the way you described it, it's a good thing we're leaving Friday," said Andy Anderson.
There is still a chance that cars begin to show up once the weekend starts, but Mayor Meehan is confident the changes they've made will pump the breaks on unsanctioned events.