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| Myrtle Beach Area Transportation Study | |
|---|---|
| Name | Myrtle Beach Area Transportation Study |
| Abbreviation | MBATS |
| Formation | 1974 |
| Type | Metropolitan Planning Organization |
| Headquarters | Myrtle Beach, South Carolina |
| Region served | Horry County, Georgetown County |
| Membership | City of Myrtle Beach; City of Conway; Horry County; Georgetown County; North Myrtle Beach; Surfside Beach; Town of Pawleys Island; South Carolina Department of Transportation |
| Leader title | Executive Director |
Myrtle Beach Area Transportation Study
The Myrtle Beach Area Transportation Study is the metropolitan planning organization responsible for coordinating transportation planning and project programming in the Myrtle Beach metropolitan area. It conducts long‑range planning, short‑range programming, and performance monitoring to align investments with regional priorities such as congestion relief, multimodal access, and resilience. MBATS engages municipalities, county governments, state agencies, and federal partners to develop fiscally constrained plans and TIPs for the Grand Strand region.
The MBATS process supports compliance with federal requirements established by the Federal Highway Administration, the Federal Transit Administration, and the United States Department of Transportation while coordinating with the South Carolina Department of Transportation and local jurisdictions such as the City of Myrtle Beach, Horry County, City of Conway, and North Myrtle Beach. Its core functions include developing the Long Range Transportation Plan, the Transportation Improvement Program, travel demand modeling, performance measures tied to the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act, and public involvement consistent with civil rights statutes including Title VI. MBATS balances the needs of highway users served by corridors like U.S. Route 17, multimodal services operated by agencies such as the Coast RTA and Waccamaw Regional Transportation Authority, and freight movements linked to facilities like the Port of Georgetown.
MBATS is governed by a policy committee composed of elected officials from member jurisdictions and representatives from state and federal entities including the South Carolina Ports Authority, South Carolina Legislature, Horry County Council, and municipal governments such as Pawleys Island. Technical advisory committees include staff from the South Carolina Department of Public Safety, Horry County Schools, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for coastal resiliency coordination, and planning staff from the Georgetown County Council. MBATS routinely consults with modal operators like the Amtrak network for intercity rail considerations and with agencies such as the Federal Emergency Management Agency when addressing evacuation routes for Hurricane Hugo‑type events.
The MBATS study area encompasses key population and activity centers across Horry County and parts of Georgetown County, integrating coastal communities including Surfside Beach, Garden City, and resort areas associated with Broadway at the Beach. The network inventory covers arterial corridors like U.S. Route 501, collector systems feeding tourism zones, intermodal nodes at the Myrtle Beach International Airport, and freight connectors serving the Waccamaw National Wildlife Refuge corridor. MBATS maps travel behaviors connecting residential nodes in Conway, South Carolina to employment centers at the Myrtle Beach Boardwalk and regional hubs such as Florence, South Carolina and Charleston, South Carolina.
MBATS employs a combination of household travel surveys, automatic traffic recorder counts, origin‑destination studies, and transit boarding data collected from providers like the Coast RTA and municipal shuttles. The MPO uses travel demand models compatible with regional models used by the Charleston Area Transportation Study and conforms to methodologies from the FHWA Traffic Analysis Toolbox. Land use inputs draw from parcel data maintained by Horry County GIS and employment datasets from the U.S. Census Bureau Longitudinal Employer‑Household Dynamics. MBATS integrates sea‑level rise scenarios informed by NOAA datasets and storm surge modeling used by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for coastal planning.
Major MBATS recommendations have included capacity improvements on U.S. Route 17 Business and targeted operational upgrades at interchanges on U.S. Route 501 near Carolina Forest. Multimodal proposals emphasize expanded transit service linking Myrtle Beach International Airport and the Myrtle Beach State Park area, development of bicycle and pedestrian corridors connecting Pawleys Island and Surfside Beach, and park‑and‑ride facilities to support seasonal demand management tied to events at Myrtle Beach Speedway and venues like the Horry County Pavilion. Freight recommendations address connector improvements to the Norfolk Southern Railway network and access to the Port of Georgetown to enhance supply chain resilience.
MBATS evaluates impacts on coastal ecosystems including the Waccamaw River basin and adjacent wetlands, assessing project effects under statutes such as the National Environmental Policy Act and coordinating with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service when projects intersect habitats of concern near the Pee Dee National Wildlife Refuge. Socioeconomic analyses assess equity outcomes for populations in communities like Conway and Georgetown, South Carolina, examining access to jobs, tourism employment centers like Barefoot Landing, and disparities identified via American Community Survey indicators. MBATS incorporates greenhouse gas accounting consistent with EPA guidance and considers adaptation measures aligned with South Carolina Sea Grant recommendations.
MBATS programs projects through the Transportation Improvement Program using funding sources from the Surface Transportation Block Grant Program, federal transit funds administered by the Federal Transit Administration, state formula funds from the South Carolina Department of Transportation, and occasionally discretionary grants such as those from the U.S. Department of Transportation BUILD program. Performance monitoring tracks metrics tied to pavement condition, congestion, transit ridership, safety outcomes referencing the Highway Safety Improvement Program, and evacuation clearance modeled after state emergency plans coordinated with the South Carolina Emergency Management Division. MBATS updates its TIP and LRTP on federally required cycles and reports progress to stakeholders including local councils, regional chambers like the Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce, and congressional delegations from South Carolina's 7th congressional district.
Category:Metropolitan planning organizations in South Carolina