We are big fans of walkable, dense neighborhoods, and what better day to test that out than Halloween? Every year, people flock to Southern Village and Quarterpath Trace to trick-or-treat or to check out the decorations.
What makes these neighborhoods good for trick-or-treating? The same things that make them good for kids year-round: Houses are close together, sidewalks are ample, and cars are slowed by speed bumps and other traffic slowing techniques, making it safer for kids to walk around.
With that in mind, here is an, admittedly, not complete assessment of how Chapel Hill and Carrboro’s neighborhoods accommodate trick-or-treaters. If they are terrible on Halloween, they are terrible for kids on every other day, and that is a bad thing.
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Triangle Blog Blog Official Halloween Walk Score (TBBOHWS , scored A to F)
Southern Village: TBBOHWS=A
As a resident I am biased, but having sidewalks on BOTH sides of EVERY street in Southern Village, closely placed homes, street lights, stop signs and traffic calming measures places Southern Village at the top of the heap. Tomorrow, the streets will be full of trick-or-treaters. One neighbor constantly has had over a thousand kids visit their home. (That’s a lot of Snickers bars.)
Quarterpath Trace, The Cedars, and Pacifica: – TBBOHWS=A-
These three neighborhoods in Carrboro have great candy, stop signs, and traffic calming measures. They also have closes relatively close together. Sidewalks are not on both sides of the street, but are on one side and there are ample streetlights.
Meadowmont: TBBOHWS=B-
Meadowmont isn’t bad, but the longer, wider streets have traditionally experienced speeding cars. Garage-fronted houses have created nearly an epidemic of cars blocking sidewalks, forcing ghosts and goblins to walk around driveways.
Lake Forest: TBBOHWS=B
The street lights could be improved, but many houses in this neighborhood do have treats and in the past, the neighborhood has created an elaborate treat map.
Westwood: TBBOHWS=D
This older neighborhood could have been expected to do better, but there are two problems: the lack of sidewalks, and large setbacks on homes, forcing trick-or-treaters to hike up to the houses. It’s also dark, thanks to the lack of streetlights.
Northside: TBBOHWS=B-
Another older neighborhood one might have expected to do well, but there are a combination of problems:
- A lack of consistent sidewalks on both sides of the street.
- Inadequate street lighting and
- A large student population who don’t always give out candy lead to this poor score.
Colony Woods: A
Colony Woods throws a well-attended neighborhood parade for Halloween which was touted by several residents in conversation with us. The neighborhood is set up well for the holiday: houses are close together and everyone comes together for the evening.
Little Ridgefield: TBBOHWS=B+
From a former neighbor: “AWESOME for trick or treating, possibly partly due to the narrower streets and general small size of the neighborhood.”
Oakwood: TBBOHWS=D
From a current neighbor: “Not awesome. The road is a drag strip, the houses are too far apart and set too far back from the street. Poor street lighting. Lots of reckless driving. “
Briar Chapel: TBBOHWS=C
The sidewalks and the rear garages offer so much to attract families to trick-or-treat. However, actual parkways bisecting the community make it hazardous for kids on any day to cross the streets, let alone on Halloween. If you stay away from the Parkways, you will probably be ok, but it is surprising that a ‘green’ community is so car-centric.
