Homegrown Halloween PSA
About Event Management
Town Manager Roger L. Stancil initiated Homegrown Halloween in 2008. The shared effort among the Town, University and Downtown aims to return Halloween on Franklin Street to its roots as a small town community gathering and reduce crowd sizes that have become unmanageable.
The event attracts an enormous crowd (upwards of 80,000 in 2008). Confined in the downtown area, this gathering presents many public safety concerns related to personal and property crime, crowd panic and large scale civil disorders. Additional concerns focus on alcohol poisoning and gang-related violence.
News
Graphics
The following graphics may be used to illustrate articles about Halloween in Chapel Hill. Each is available as a high-resolution image, which should be editable for use on Web sites, in video, or in newsprint. Click on the photo to view and download the larger image.
To Download: PC users: Right click and choose "save" from the pop-up menu to download a copy of the picture. Mac users: Click and hold, then choose "save" from the pop-up menu to download a copy of the picture or drag the photo to your desktop or selected folder.
Street Closures
- Southbound traffic on Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd will be merged into one lane prior to the intersection of Estes Drive.
- Westbound traffic on E. Franklin Street will be merged into one lane prior to the intersection of Estes Drive.
- Westbound lanes on South Road will be detoured onto Ridge Road to Manning Drive.
- Westbound traffic on Manning Drive will be detoured south onto S. Columbia Street. Northbound traffic on S. Columbia Street will be detoured east onto Manning Drive. S. Columbia Street will be closed to northbound traffic at Manning Drive.
Beginning at about 9 p.m., some downtown streets will be closed to vehicular traffic, including:
- Franklin Street, from Raleigh Street to Roberson Street
- Columbia Street, from Rosemary Street to Cameron Avenue
- Raleigh Street, from East Franklin to Cameron Avenue
- Henderson Street, from East Rosemary Street to East Franklin Street
Residential streets near downtown will be closed except to residents of those streets and their guests. View a map of street closures.
Parking
As always, there will be little to NO PARKING available close to downtown, and there will be no place for charter buses to drop off or pick up passengers.
Vehicles parked on streets to be closed will be towed beginning at 6 p.m.
Vehicles that are illegally parked will be ticketed and towed, with a minimum recovery cost of $103.
Media vehicles will not be allowed to park inside the closed perimeter.
For the latest UNC public safety information on Halloween (street closures and parking restrictions) visit www.dps.unc.edu/Postings/breakingnews/viewBreakingNews.cfm
Prohibited Items
Downtown restaurants and bars will close their doors at 1 a.m. to new patrons. They also will charge a minimum $5 cover charge to patrons not attending a private event. In addition, downtown convenience stores that sell alcohol will either close their doors or stop selling alcohol at 1 a.m.
Town ordinances and State statutes prohibit the following items in the closed area:
- Alcoholic Beverages
- Weapons
- Glass Bottles
- Paint
- Fireworks and Explosives
- Flammable Substances
- Animals
- Coolers
Items, even as part of a costume, which can be used as weapons or could reasonably be mistaken as weapons will be confiscated. This includes items made of wood, metal, cardboard or hard plastic.
Transit
No Bus Shuttles: This year there will be no bus shuttles operating from park and ride lots.
Safe Ride Buses: Safe Ride buses will operate from 11 p.m. to 2:30 a.m. Safe Ride is a service funded by the University for the safety of students. Safe Ride buses will attempt to operate the normal published schedules along the detoured routes. Safe Rides will not serve the Downtown/Franklin Street area. Please be advised that due to road closures and traffic pattern changes, Chapel Hill Transit may be unable to operate its exact published schedules.
View Safe Ride maps and schedules.
- Safe T (pick up and drop off from Chapel Hill Town Hall)
- Safe J (pick up and drop off from Passport Motors)
- Safe G (pick up and drop off from Columbia Street at Sitterson Hall across from Carolina Inn)
Changes to Bus Routes: Chapel Hill Transit riders should be aware that the NU Route will end at 9:02 p.m. at the PR Lot.
Riders who would like to travel on this route from 9-11 p.m. must schedule a Shared Ride trip in advance. To schedule a ride, please call Chapel Hill Transit Reservations at 919-969-5544 from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. (Monday-Saturday) and 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. (Sunday).
Downtown Residents
The Town of Chapel Hill will make every effort to keep people who are attending the event from parking in your neighborhood. Access to your neighborhood will be limited by barricades and police personnel at the roads leading into your neighborhood. This will begin early in the evening.
- Residents of the neighborhood will be able to drive in and out of the enclosed area. Tell the officer at the barricade where you live.
- Your guests will also be able to enter and leave. They will need to tell the officer at the barricade exactly where they are going.
- Illegally parked vehicles (even of residents, guests) will be ticketed and towed.
- Traffic will be congested and getting past the barricades may be a slow process. We recommend that you plan accordingly.
Statistics
|
Crowd Sizes |
Event Management Costs |
| 2003 |
78,000 |
$131,939 |
| 2004 |
80,000 |
$166,103 |
| 2005 |
50,000 |
$197,000 |
| 2006 |
70,000 |
$230,000 |
| 2007 |
80,000 |
$221,490 |
| 2008 |
35,000 |
$203,957 |
| 2009
| 50,000 |
$197,024 |
What businesses say about Halloween
In speaking with downtown business owners, Chamber of Commerce staff heard that Halloween was not a great night for business revenue and that business owners were increasingly concerned about safety of their staff and patrons.
Of the downtown businesses completing the survey, more reported that Halloween had a negative impact on their business (revenue) than those who reported a positive impact (17 versus 14). More businesses reported that other downtown events (i.e. Festifall and Locally Grown) had a more positive impact on their revenue than Halloween. In terms of safety, 36 percent of all businesses received some damage from the Halloween event. Of downtown businesses, 64 percent reported some type of damage and/or concerns about safety due to Halloween. Read the Survey of Businesses about Halloween.
Contact
Information: Police Officer Phil Smith at 919-968-2760 ext. 134 or psmith@townofchapelhill.org, Lt. Kevin Gunter at 919-968-2760 ext. 160 or kgunter@townofchapehill.org or Public Information Officer Catherine Lazorko at 919-968-2743 or publicaffairs@townofchapelhill.org.