Barricades, intense lighting and many additional police officers will be prominent features on State Street on the Friday and Saturday nights preceeding Halloween this year.
A committee featuring members of the Madison and UW-Madison Campus Police Departments, Madison alders, the Dean of Students office, State Street business owners and Associated Students of Madison discussed possibilities Tuesday afternoon to curb rioting and crowd density for this year's Halloween festivities.
MPD Central District Commander Capt. Mary Schauf facilitated the meeting.
She said one of the main goals of the MPD is to keep the State Street crowd moving to avoid density levels that put partygoers in dangerous situations.
\We are stretching our staffing to the max,"" she said. ""We will take a strong stance on any aggressive behavior.""
Police Chief Noble Wray added to Schauf's comment by noting that maintaining a density plan will allow officers to address the behavior.
""If the streets are more crowded and it's difficult to move, it will be hard for officers to access any of our other plans relating to aggressive behavior,"" he said.
Schauf said the MPD will discuss different fencing options for the State Street area, and these decisions will be finalized by the beginning of October.
Barricading Frances Street was a firm decision, Schauf said.
Schauf said the police plan to allow Halloween revelers to leave the State Street area via Frances Street, but said people will be asked to enter from other access points.
State Street business owners voiced ideas on how city officials could curb a negative party atmosphere.
Hawk Schenkel, owner of Hawk's Bar and Grill, 425 State St., offered several suggestions for how to make not only State Street, but also its bars, fun and safe.
""Maybe it would be a good idea for the bars with back doors to try to usher some of the traffic out that way and away from State Street,"" Schenkel said.
Schenkel also said that, since the police will have access to high-volume lights and advanced audio equipment, in communicating with partiers on State Street, it would be useful to employ a ""last call"" tactic to move people off the street.
""If you only tell people once that they have to leave, it's going to be hard to get them to move,"" he said. ""But if you tell them progressively, it might work better.""
Another development in the bar scene for Halloween weekend may allow patrons to drink until 2 a.m. and remain in the bar until 3 a.m.
