Limits Eyed For Elmhurst Block Parties; Number Rising

ELMHURST, IL – Elmhurst's block parties are a part of Americana, and they are increasing, city officials said this week.

In a memo, Mayor Scott Levin and City Administrator Jim Grabowski asked a city committee to consider limits in the city's policy.

Last year, the number of block party requests was 174, up from 138 in 2021, the officials said.

The peak month for the parties is in September. But the problem is on Halloween.

Last year, the city received 45 requests in October, 20 of those being for Halloween.

Traffic impacts are particularly significant when Halloween falls on a weekday because of rush-hour traffic, the officials said.

They said they couldn't recall a single year in which they hadn't received numerous complaints from residents for three main reasons:

• The event is not a real block party, more just a road closure.
• Residents on neighboring streets report more traffic or overflow parking from closed streets.
• Frustrated drivers detour through streets narrowed by additional parking and a lot of pedestrians.

"From a public safety perspective, this is the one holiday where the event centers around pedestrian activity," the officials said.

They requested that the city's public safety committee look at the issue.

For years, the public works department has arranged for barricades to be given to the block party coordinator. On-shift fire and police personnel then visit to show the city's equipment and provide public education materials.