Controlling Halloween

Good luck to Town of Berlin officials in their quest to make Halloween night safer for the hordes of trick-or-treaters who take to the streets in the early evening and doorbell their way through the neighborhoods.

Regardless of the approach the mayor and Town Council might take — if they do anything — the expression “herding cats” comes to mind regarding any attempt to impose more order on this night of happy chaos.

What the town wants to do is protect children from traffic by setting the hours of trick-or-treating an hour later in the evening and closing streets accordingly. But as Council member Shaneka Nichols observed, kids and their families follow their own timelines and will be out and about regardless of what the town decrees.

She’s right. Still, that doesn’t mean council members pushing for better safety measures are wrong. It’s their duty to think about the safety of the public, and children especially.

But attempting to bring a sense of order to something as  random as kids on Halloween is an impossible task. The town can close streets and change hours, but the full cooperation of those they wish to protect is not likely.