News Flash

STEAMBOAT SPRINGS, COLORADO-October 25, 2023-Don’t get tricked this All Hallows Eve when the Halloween Stroll comes to downtown Steamboat Springs and Lincoln Avenue (US40) closes for the annual community holiday stroll Tuesday evening, October 31.

The Lincoln Avenue closures will go into effect as early as 4:45pm on Halloween and runs through approximately 8pm that evening. During this time, motorist will use a circular configuration that sees US40 eastbound traffic diverted onto Yampa Street and US40 westbound traffic onto Oak Street. At the conclusion of the Halloween stroll, Lincoln Avenue will reopen as soon as safely possible. 

Traffic controllers will be staffed at 5^th, 7^th, 8^th, and 11^th Street intersections on Oak and Yampa Streets to ensure proper traffic direction and access options. All road closure barricades will span the entire side street and vehicles will not be able to bypass the traffic control feature. Alley ways and road access into and out of the detour area will be very limited.

On Tuesday evening, westbound traffic will turn right on 5^th St, then left onto Oak St before continuing down to 11^th St and US40. In addition, for easier semi-truck travel, there will be no parking around the 5^th & Oak and 11^th & Oak intersections. Other on-street parking on Oak will be limited due to the detour. 

The Soda Creek Bridge project closure, currently on Oak Street between 10^th to 11^th Streets, will only open for the Halloween event (sometime around mid-day on 10/31) to permit the implementation of the detour traffic plan for the special event. The one-block closure will return once Lincoln Avenue reopens after the stroll. The project is anticipated to run approximate another week to ten days. 

Eastbound traffic will turn right at 11^th St, then left onto Yampa St. Traffic will travel the seven-blocks down Yampa to 5^th St before returning to Lincoln/US40. No parking is available on 11^th Street or at the intersections of 11^th & Yampa and 5^th & Yampa. Like Oak St, other on-street parking on Yampa will be limited due to the detour. 

The 5^th Street Bridge will remain open to northbound traffic during the event. Westbound traffic on US40 will NOT be able to turn left on 5^th Street to reach Howelsen Park. Motorists should consider using River Road for areas south of the river. 

Individuals looking to access neighborhoods north of downtown should utilize 3^rd, 4^th, and 12^th Streets. Residential side streets approaching Oak between 5^th and 11^th will not be permitted to turn left on Oak but will need to follow the circular route. The city is asking lodging shuttles to use the parking lot at 3^rd & Oak for drop off and pick up during the closure. 

During the closure, temporary bus stops for westbound Steamboat Springs Transit (SST) routes will be on 5^th (between Lincoln/Oak near alley) and at 7^th, 9^th & 10^th. Eastbound SST routes will use stops on 11^th (between Lincoln/Yampa near alley) 9^th, 7^th on Yampa St. Buses will return to normal operations when Lincoln Avenue/US40 reopens. SST locations and times can be found at steamboatsprings.net/transit or by calling 970.879.3717.

Due to the high volume of pedestrians including many children, please be patient, alert, and observe detours and closures. As it gets dark, motorists have a harder time seeing you, so be visible. In general, bring a flashlight or headlamp, wear reflective gear, use caution in crosswalks, do not dart across streets/alleys, eliminate distractions such as earbuds, texting, and cellphones, and assume you can’t be seen by others. 

In addition, bikers should use front and back lights and always wear a helmet. Halloween is scary for the friendliest of pets; please leave your four-legged companions at home while you roam the costumed crowd downtown. 

For more than three decades, families, friends and businesses have celebrated Halloween in historic downtown Steamboat Springs by trick-or-treating down six-blocks of Lincoln Avenue where businesses open their doors with plenty of treats for children. The downtown stroll festivities run from 5pm to 7:30pm. 

The City of Steamboat Springs and Mainstreet Steamboat would like to thank residents and guests in advance for their cooperation during the holiday closure and extends our best witches to everyone for a safe and spooktacular Halloween celebration.

-WeServeTheCity-

Contact
Lisa Popovich, Main Street Steamboat, 970.367.7060 or email
Evan Noble, Police Sergeant, 970.879.4344 or email
Emily Hines, Marketing & Communications Coordinator, 970.871.7031 or email
Michael Lane, Communications Manager, 970.871.8220 or email