Every week, Next republishes an article from the City Manager’s newsletter.
Halloween falls on a Saturday this year, and we’re expecting big crowds in the neighborhoods that have become destinations on October 31! With that in mind, our Public Works Mobility team and the Police Department are coordinating more street closures than we’ve done in past years, so that the streets drawing the most foot traffic can be enjoyed safely on foot.
Currently, we’re working to develop the trick-or-treat street closures via our existing block party permits. Several neighborhoods have applied for those permits for Halloween night, and we’re using those permits as the mechanism through which we’re approving street closures this year.
Based on those closure permits, and coupled with what we’ve seen in prior years, the Police Department is also working to coordinate the closing of additional streets where traffic, trick-or- treating patterns, and crowds warrant it.
Given those factors, the closures we’re currently planning for Saturday, October 31 include:
- Yale Street between Washington Avenue and Wilshire Boulevard
- Cedar Street between 10th and 11th Streets
- 24th Street between Pico Boulevard and Pearl Street
- 21st Street between Pico Boulevard and Ocean Park Boulevard
- Pearl Street between 20th and 25th Streets – because the 21st and 24th Street closures cut across Pearl, we’re going to be closing Pearl between 20th and 25th as well (of note, 23rd Street and Cloverfield Boulevard will remain open with traffic control measures in place, so traffic can still cross Pearl).
- Georgina Avenue at 16th Street – home of the annual Halloween spectacular that draws thousands of visitors each year, the Police Department will be closing sections of the streets in this area for public safety, as we have in the past
We’re excited at the City to be able to facilitate a number of street closures for the upcoming Halloween holiday. Of note though, while this year’s approach is a workable stopgap, it also identified the limits of the tool we’re using. Block party permits are designed for exactly what the name says – a single block – while trick-or-treating in Santa Monica (or anywhere else!) doesn’t respect block boundaries.
Halloween trick-or-treating typically happens across a defined area of a neighborhood (often three, four, or five blocks in every direction), which is why we ended up stitching together individual permits and then closing Pearl Street on top of them to make the pieces fit. Given this experience, for next year, our Mobility and Police teams will be working to develop a dedicated trick-or-treat street closure program, which we anticipate will be built around neighborhood areas rather than single blocks, with a simple application for residents, clear criteria for where closures make sense, and a coordinated plan for barricades and traffic control activities. We’ll be sure to share more on this effort as it takes shape during the next year.
With all that being said, if you’re driving Saturday evening, please make sure to drive safely! We’d encourage everyone to try and plan for alternate routes around the blocks that will be closed for trick-or-treating activities, and be sure to watch for the kids in costumes! Kudos also to our team for jumping in to figure out a way to enhance the safety and fun that’s sure to be all around Santa Monica for Halloween!
