Traffic control was a success for Thursday night’s Steamboat Springs Halloween Stroll, local police said, making it another year of safe fun.

According to Police Chief Mark Beckett, closures for events such as the annual Halloween Stroll are becoming smoother every year. 

“Every patrol officer that wasn’t working another shift was out working the Halloween Stroll,” said Beckett. “It was a safe event overall, which is always the goal.”

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According to Beckett, Steamboat Springs Police Department pays attention to hiccups at events and adjusts the next event accordingly. For example, this year’s closure of Lincoln Avenue began at 2 p.m., earlier than in previous years.

“We had some traffic issues last year due to starting (the street closure) at 3 p.m.,” he said. “We wanted to start a little bit earlier this year to get the detour in place. It was a good decision and helped this year go smoothly.”

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The emergency lanes on Yampa and Oak streets also worked particularly well this year, allowing the fire department to respond to a medical emergency in “an appropriate manner,” according to Beckett.

Some Steamboat Springs locals have voiced concerns about traffic delays and disrupting city operations during the closure of Lincoln Avenue, but the complaints were minimal this year, said City Manager Gary Suiter.

“There’s always going to be traffic delays when closing a major thoroughfare,” Suiter said. “There’s no way around that. But everything went as expected.”

Suiter also added that the event will continue in the same way next year, with the same protocol in mind for the yearly Winter Carnival and Fourth of July parade — as long as the City Council and the Colorado Department of Transportation continue to approve the temporary closure of Lincoln Avenue.

“The highway is owned by the federal government and managed by the Colorado Department of Transportation,” Suiter said. “If they ever intervene and say, ‘You can’t close down the highway anymore,’ we would have to oblige that request. Other than that, we’re not planning on changing the event.”

Steamboat Springs schools also saw success in traffic control operations, only experiencing small delays at pickup time.

According to Laura Milius, the communications director for Steamboat Springs School District, bus traffic and student pickup was minimally affected by the closure. Some buses were delayed by only 15 minutes, and two buses, which run to the Boys & Girls Club, were delayed by 25 minutes.

“I haven’t heard any complaints about pickup or dropoff,” said Milius. “I asked Superintendent Dr. (Celine) Wicks as well, and she said she hadn’t heard anything of note either. Everything seemed to go smoothly on our end.”

Although there were minimal traffic delays, the closure of Lincoln Avenue has its effects beyond the roads. Small businesses also close early in preparation for the event.

Although it’s a sacrifice, it’s one that small businesses are happy to make for the community, according to Chris Dillenbeck, owner of F.M. Light & Sons.

“As a small business owner, we don’t necessarily benefit from the stroll,” Dillenbeck said. “We have basically no sales that day, and we spend around $1,000 on candy each year. But it’s something we love to do. It’s such a positive event for the community, and we love to support the community.”

With another successful Halloween Stroll in the books, Beckett emphasized the importance of practicing patience and asked that everyone remember the cultural value of community events.

“The Halloween Stroll is my favorite event of the year,” he said. “It’s a great time for everyone in the county to gather together and be safe and have fun.”