I’ve been saddened over the years about trunk or treat.
It’s a become a fun event for communities and families all over the US, so this isn’t a Halloween tradition bashing.
Wandering around in a parking lot collecting candy from the trunks of cars just doesn’t match the thrill of running around town getting a pillow case load of candy, peripherally supervised by parents, if at all.
Halloween is the deadliest day of the year for kids, so it’s very good that Halloween has evolved.
*This is a postscript after a near tragic moment last evening after this article was published: A driver turned onto our street and ran over the “NJ Law Stop For Pedestrians” bollard, crushing it in the middle of the intersection, and drove off. It could have been a child.
Drivers might be distracted, intoxicated, or inattentive, so we advocate for streets that are designed to be safe on Halloween and every day in Asbury Park. Streets need better lighting, curb extensions and other traffic calming measures.
Drivers rule our roads, so it’s good that Halloween has evolved.
This afternoon there are many more families walking along the sidewalk in front of our house than on a normal day at 5pm. The littles are carefully supervised by adults. Even under a mom’s watchful eye, a little superman dashed into the street as a driver sped by. She grabbed him in time.
Our house is at a main intersection in a relatively quiet part of our city, and as we sit on our porch waiting for the trick-or-treaters, the kids eagerly looking toward the next house to get treats, we also see drivers zooming up to the stop signs and rolling right through.
Trunk-or-Treat will remain a part of American Halloween.
Automobiles are part of our culture, and our streets are not safe with drivers who behave as if roads belong to them.
Families and kids should have options to trick-or-treat in neighborhoods, and also trunk-or-treat with their school, town, or church community if they want to, not because they have to.
Loads of kids come to our neighborhood every Halloween, so we can see that families still choose to trick-or-treat in neighborhoods that they feel are safe.
We have to build cities that are truly safe for the most vulnerable, and not having to hang out in a parking lot on Halloween.
Unless families want to because it’s really fun.
Onward~
Polli Schildge, Editor APCSC
Polli,
I love your thoughts on Trick or Treating. I sent a message to the Recreation department a couple of weeks ago that we need to re visit Trunk or treating and it being on the 31st. .
Trick or Treating is a right of passage. The fun we had going from house to house. The homes outdoing the neighbors with different and better candy. I understand the safety issues that are part of our world. But I would like to see the community event the day before Halloween. We are trying to build the holiday here in Asbury and the more homes that participate the more the kids will come. I see that 3rd and 4th have a huge following. We need to extend that to our blocks. Next year I will have yard signs on 3rd and 4th with arrows to 5th and Sunset.
Thanks for reading Christina. I added a postscript to the article after a near tragic incident. The city needs to be committed to redesigning streets that are safe for everyone every day, including Halloween. More kids and families out on Halloween will be really nice, but first and foremost streets must be safe.