Halloween is traditionally one of the most dangerous days/nights of the year for children, due to traffic violence.
Last year I was in Davis by chance for their downtown kids-oriented Halloween celebration, Treat Trail. The sidewalks are filled with kids in costumes, and their parents sometimes too. Local businesses give out candy and other treats. I have never seen such a community oriented celebration, not just of Halloween, but of Davis. Several things make this event safe. It is in the afternoon, not in the dark. The mass of kids and families makes everyone pay attention, including drivers. Drivers in Davis are much more respectful of people walking (and bicycling) than are drivers in Sacramento.
Yes, I realize Halloween, on Saturday, October 31, is only two days away, too late to organized something for this year. But since I forgot to post in a timely manner, better now so that I can re-post it next year.
In Sacramento, many families won’t let their kids go out, for fear of traffic violence. There are organized ‘trunk-or-treat’ events where people give out candy from the trunk of their cars, which is as far from the spirit of Halloween as I can imagine, and a sure sign of motor vehicle hegemony, that it is only safe to be around motor vehicles when they are not moving.
Could Sacramento do something like Davis? Yes, but only on streets closed to cars. The danger from drivers is just too great on streets open to cars in Sacramento. Where could that happen? It could happen anywhere that the neighbors or businesses got a permit and bought or rented barriers, and paid for police overtime.
But there are two locations in downtown Sacramento where the streets are already set up to be closed to cars, and open to trick-or-treat, R Street corridor, and the 20th Street & K Street farmers market area, where the streets can be closed with bollards. Bollard bases have been installed at a number of intersections, and at many of these, the bollards are waiting in bollard corrals to be placed. The photo below shows bollards on R Street at 15th Street, during the pandemic closure of R Street, but the bollard bases and bollards are still being used for special events. What better special event than a Halloween street for kids?
I don’t know which blocks would provide the best experience for kids and business owners. It requires a certain density of supportive local businesses to be successful.
Just showing up today, the post ‘Map: Where are San Francisco’s Halloween events and car-free streets?‘ on Mission Local. Note that searching for ‘halloween car free streets sacramento’ turns up nothing. There are events in parking lots, and parks, and community locations, but nothing on streets. Absolutely nothing.
The map below (pdf) shows the bollard base ‘fences’ at intersections, the bollard ‘corrals’ where bollards are stored when not in use, and the ‘bollard streets’ that can be easily closed to motor vehicles and opened to people walking, including kids. The streets segments are 20th Street between Capitol Avenue and L Street, L Street and K Street, and K Street and J Street; and K Street between 19th Street and 21st Street, 21st Street and 22nd Street, 22nd Street and 23rd Street, and 23rd Street to 24th Street. The Saturday Midtown Farmers Market uses 20th Street between Capitol Avenue and K Street (to north to I Street), and K Street between 19th Street and 21st Street. I have not been the eastern segments being used, but they may be.
I have not yet gathered the data and mapped the R Street corridor, but will add it here when available.
