For police, H2Oi was an absolute headache but for local businesses, they welcomed the extra traffic wrapping up a bittersweet ending.
It would take a little bit longer to tally all the extra cash that local business got in Ocean City, Maryland from all the foot traffic entering their humble beach town but for police, it’s a little more simple. As per Delmarva Now on their report on the weekend that hit the internet earlier today (Oct 1, 2018) they report that OCPD handed out more than 1,200 individual citations and just 80 arrests. In addition, a couple of local residents went on to comment on H2Oi’s unofficial Facebook group with questions and an overall positive message for the thousands of attendees, but we’ll get into that later.
It’s not widely known but before H2Oi descended onto their small town, it looks like Ocean City overall had a lackluster summer in terms of business. According to one bar owner,
“It gets rowdy um traffic I understand why people don’t like it its but you know from a business standpoint cant ask for more,” explains Kit Gabby, owner of 58th Street Wine and Beer.
This being an unofficial event and all, it wasn’t actually planned by the local chamber of commerce or sanctioned by city officials, but, nonetheless, the extra economic boost was appreciated.
Believe it or not, you’d think that the total number of arrests and citations would increase exponentially over the years, as is the case for car shows like this, but that’s further from the truth. If you go back a couple of years, the stats for 2018 are par for the course.
According to The Dispatch, in 2012 there were 78 arrests and 901 traffic enforcement citations.
Police agree that most citations stem from brazen disrespect for the traffic laws but what do you expect from an event built on that reputation.
Finally, there were some unexpected and pleasant comments from visitors and locals. I’ve screenshot the best and linked those below.
Locals will be glad to know that the 30 MPH speed limit all over town is lifted, until next year of course.
Speaking of next year, I don’t imagine much, if anything, will change. We’ll have to wait and see.
