Will there be a traffic nightmare on Halloween?

The convergence of Halloween, the last day of early voting and a Friday afternoon could make for scary traffic conditions, officials warn.

“This year we anticipate an early and intense afternoon rush hour,” Georgia Department of Transportation spokeswoman Monica Luck said.

Halloween has long been known for producing rough rush hours, as parents try to get home before dark to get the munchkins ready to trick-or-treat.

Over the years, thousands of Atlantans have been stalled for hours as they all hit the afternoon streets at the same time. In 1996 Perimeter Mall drivers reported being trapped there for three hours.

But in recent years, Halloween rush hours have been milder.

Last year was a mixed bag, according to the DOT. There was congestion, as might be expected during rush hour, in many locations on the afternoon of Oct. 31, but typical of Halloween, it started midafternoon.

“It looks like 3:00-3:15 p.m. was the bewitching hour for most locations last year,” said Mark Demidovich, assistant state traffic engineer for DOT.

Yet in some locations, there wasn’t any problem at all.

“Anecdotally, the last truly severe Halloween was 2005,” said Luck. “Halloween fell on a Monday, and it was also the first workday after the end of Daylight Saving Time.”

One mitigating factor this year is that the time change comes after Halloween, which means darkness comes an hour later, giving commuters a little more time to get home.

BEWARE AND PREPARE

Some just-in-case Halloween transport tips from the Clean Air Campaign and Georgia DOT:

• Take MARTA

• Carpool

• Work from home

• Check georgia-navigator.com before setting out on the highways.

• Traffic or no, watch out for short goblins darkly clothed, toting candy and darting through the streets.