By Susan Dickson, Staff Writer
CHAPEL HILL – Efforts to reduce the number of Halloween revelers on Franklin Street were successful this year, with Sunday’s crowds estimated at about 35,000 people – about 30 percent less than last year.
Chapel Hill officials said they plan to keep up the efforts in future years.
“I think it might be nice if it was a little bit smaller, even smaller than it was [this year], but I think [this Halloween] went really well,†Chapel Hill Mayor Mark Kleinschmidt said. “A lot went into making sure it did.â€
In 2008, the town launched Homegrown Halloween, an effort aimed at returning the celebration to a small-town community gathering, out of concern that crowd sizes were becoming unmanageable. More than 80,000 people visited Franklin Street for Halloween in 2007. Crowds shrunk to 35,000 in 2008, but increased to 50,000 for last year’s Saturday night Halloween.
“We’re looking forward now to having several years where [Halloween is] in the middle of the week,†Kleinschmidt said.
Town officials kept the event relatively early, with streets cleared by 11:40 p.m. and open to traffic by 12:40 a.m. Officials also focused on efforts to identify people who might be in trouble, Kleinschmidt said, which helped avoid other types of issues.
Orange County EMS responded to seven calls, with three people transported to UNC Hospitals. Six of the seven calls were related to alcohol. One citation was issued for simple possession of marijuana. During last year’s event, 22 people were treated for alcohol-related issues, down from 31 in 2008.
Last year’s event cost the town about $197,000, compared with $203,000 in 2008 and $221,000 in 2007. Cost estimates for this year’s event are not yet available.