Friday is Halloween, and that means one of the biggest parties of the year in downtown Chapel Hill.

About 30,000 people are expected on Franklin Street for the annual Halloween celebration. Franklin Street will be closed downtown from 9:00 p.m. until midnight as costumed revelers take to the streets.

As per usual, the Town of Chapel Hill is trying to keep the party manageable: traffic into town will be restricted, parking downtown will be extremely limited, and Chapel Hill Transit routes will end early. About 400 police officers will be on hand as well, from a variety of municipalities in the area.

WCHL’s Aaron Keck spoke with Chapel Hill Mayor Mark Kleinschmidt about tonight’s festivities.

 

And Aaron also spoke with Chapel Hill Police Chief Chris Blue about how the department is getting ready – and what you need to know.

 

For more information on Halloween, including attendance reports from previous years, visit TownOfChapelHill.org/Halloween.

Map of roads that will be closed for Halloween.

Map of roads that will be closed for Halloween.

From the Town of Chapel Hill:

Street Closures

Southbound traffic on Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd will be merged into one lane between Estes Drive and Rosemary Street.
Traffic on E. Franklin Street will be merged into one lane between Estes Drive and Raleigh Road.
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 Mallette 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

There will be LIMITED PARKING available in Town lots close to downtown; 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 $105 plus the cost of the ticket.

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

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

Chapel Hill Transit (CHT) will end service early on the D, F, J, NS and NU routes and EZ Rider to accommodate the Halloween celebration on Franklin Street. The following schedule modifications will be in effect:

D Route will end at 8:43 p.m. at the Sagebrook Apartments
F Route will end at 8:45 p.m. at Colony Woods
J Route will end at 8:56 p.m. at the Rock Creek Apartments
NS Route will end at 8:38 p.m. at Eubanks Park and Ride
NU Route will end at 8:29 p.m. at RR Lot
EZ Rider service will end at 8:30 p.m.

All other routes will operate on regular routes and published schedules, although minor delays may occur due to increased traffic.

Safe Ride Buses: Safe Ride buses will operate from 11 p.m. to 2:30 a.m. View schedules and maps of safe ride routes at http://bit.ly/174mvrJ. Safe Ride is a service funded by the UNC-Chapel Hill Student Government for the safety of students. Safe Ride buses will operate along 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.

• Safe T – pick up and drop off from Chapel Hill Town Hall
• Safe J – pick up and drop off from Passport Motors (Franklin Street at Graham Street)
• Safe G – pick up and drop off from Columbia Street at Sitterson Hall across from Carolina Inn

No Bus Shuttles: There will be no bus shuttles operating from park and ride lots.

Questions: Please contact a CHT customer service representative at 919-969-4900 (press 1) or email chtransit@townofchapelhill.org.

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.
Yard waste collection will be conducted as usual on Thursday, Oct. 31. Friday yard waste collections will be postponed to Friday, Nov. 8.