Halloween to end early

Cinderella will not be the only one leaving Franklin Street when the clock strikes midnight on Halloween.

The town will end the party early this year, just as crowds are expected to reach peak level, officials announced last week.

Discussions between the University, town and student government have led to changes which might limit festivities while being just as labor intensive.

Breaking up the crowd will be difficult, Chapel Hill Police Chief Brian Curran said. Officials are banking on a publicity campaign in the final two weeks to keep people out and let partygoers know what is happening.

“If you try to take the street before people are ready, you’re going to run into problems,” he said.

Past celebrations have ended at about 2 a.m. At midnight this year, loud speakers will announce it is time to leave. The mounted horses will walk from the west down the street, and Curran said he thinks people will get out of the way.

“I saw one guy try and fight with one of the horses, and he lost,” Curran said. “Biggest hockey defenseman I’ve ever seen.”

Other finalized changes include:

- All downtown bars will charge a minimum of $5 to anyone not attending a private event. At 1 a.m., they will close their doors to new patrons or stop selling alcohol.

- No park and ride buses.

- Essentially no downtown parking available.

- Increasing the difficulty of cars getting to downtown Chapel Hill.

Curran has said repeatedly that Halloween is an alcohol-fueled event.

But charging bar patrons is unlikely to cut down significantly on alcohol use; the bars downtown hold about 5,000 people and about 80,000 went downtown in 2007.

“We came to recognize the issue isn’t people in the businesses, it’s the amount of people on the street,” said James Rippe, manager of Bub O’Malley’s on East Rosemary Street.

Curran said there aren’t plans to increase alcohol enforcement outside of downtown.

Curran and other town officials say that the changes are necessary as out-of-town attendees have increased.

The town has presented a consistently unwelcome face to many who come from elsewhere.

“It’s not rude to say we’re sorry, but we’re full,” Mayor Kevin Foy said.

With plenty of crime homegrown, changes might not fix the problem. About 35 percent of the arrested since 2001 were from Chapel Hill.

This year’s steps are only the first in the town plans. Officials considered declaring a state of emergency, but it is more likely that next year will include stages for entertainment and possibly an entrance fee.

“What we do this year is just a beginning,” Town Manager Roger Stancil said.

Officials do not expect the town’s cost to decrease right away, and police are attempting to recruit about as many officers as last year.



Senior Writer Katy Doll  contributed reporting.

Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.