Horry County residents, officials discuss RIDE 4 as election draws closer

HORRY COUNTY, SC (WMBF) - In just three weeks, thousands will be heading to the polls, but voters in Horry County will have an extra question on their ballots.

Wednesday night, residents, county officials, and conservationists came together at a Carolina Forest Civic Association meeting to talk about RIDE 4, which is a referendum to continue funding road projects all over the county.

While most agree upgrades are necessary, some worry about factors like the environment.

“Do these roads, a lot of them, need help? Yes, they do. But is this the right thing? I don’t think it is,” said resident Richard McAndrew.

Horry County residents have been paying this tax for over 25 years, with RIDE 1 through 3. If they approve RIDE 4, they will continue to pay the tax until 2050.

County officials have promised to finish any remaining RIDE 3 projects, but have added 27 new projects to the list.

“I look at a lot of the projects that they’ve got on there and they’re good, but they’ve got some stuff on there that just doesn’t make sense for this area,” said McAndrew.

For residents like McAndrew, as well as members of the Coastal Conservation League, some of the more costly projects are of the most concern, as they’d be built through conservation lands.

“Fortunately, in 2026, we‘ll have another crack at this if this gets voted down,” said Trapper Fowler, Deputy Director of the Coastal Conservation League’s North Coast Office. “We can re-prioritize for a better project list, one that doesn’t push roads through the middle of our conservation lands and perhaps take off unneeded projects.”

But, County Councilman Dennis DiSabato says he doesn’t think the county can afford to push RIDE 4 off any longer.

“I think it would be catastrophic,” said DiSabato. “We are way behind on infrastructure in this county. We’ve experienced a tremendous amount of growth over the last 10, 15 years. We’re anticipating even more growth over the next 10 to 15 years. And this type of ballot referendum allows us to address not only the capacity that we don’t have now but the capacity that we expect.”

The Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce will be hosting a public forum on RIDE 4 on Oct. 29.