Recommendations fall short: Ideas presented to restrict Halloween are counter-productive

The Chapel Hill Town Council heard a number of recommendations regarding the future of Halloween.    

We feel that several of these recommendations fall short of community expectations:

- Launch an aggressive public information campaign voicing the town's concerns and aiming to discourage travel to Chapel Hill for the event.

This approach does not reflect the standards of the Chapel Hill community.

Such a campaign would mean informing everyone outside Chapel Hill that they are not invited to the Halloween festivities.

But as police arrest reports from previous years indicate" preventing out-of-towners from coming will not necessarily eliminate safety concerns.

Chapel Hill police Chief Brian Curran told the council that ending the Halloween festivities altogether would not be ""consistent with town values.""

We think denying certain people access to our town would not be consistent with these values" either.

- Consider restricting the sale of alcohol in downtown Chapel Hill on Halloween.

The council wants to limit binge-drinking on Halloween but cracking down on bars is not the answer.

Most binge-drinking occurs off-site" while bars have the ability to control crowds by charging admission and to employ trained bartenders who are ultimately liable for the condition of their customers.

Mayor Kevin Foy would need to declare a ""state of emergency"" to restrict the sale of alcohol on Franklin Street. This would be excessive and ultimately counter-productive by encouraging off-site drinking.

- Discontinue Chapel Hill Transit shuttles from park-and-ride lots to the downtown area.

This proposal seems counter-intuitive. The shuttle service began in response to public safety concerns about drunk drivers on Halloween.

Now" the council is concerned that too many drunk people are being bused into Chapel Hill and contributing to the rowdy atmosphere. 

But we would rather see drunk folks stumbling down Franklin Street that behind the wheel of an SUV.

Halloween is a Chapel Hill tradition in which all of us have a stake. Any decision to change the course of the celebration should receive careful consideration.

The town council has expressed a commitment to engage all aspects of the community to ensure a collaborative decision-making process.

We hope they honor that commitment.