It's no secret that Atlanta traffic can be spooky. On Halloween, though, there are even more tricks out there for drivers to be aware of, according to the WSB 24-hour Traffic Center.
Metro interstates are clogged as parents head home to prep for trick-or-treating, the Traffic Center reported. By 5 p.m., heavy backups were found on the Downtown Connector, as well as I-75 and I-85 south into the city. Traffic maps also showed lots of red on I-285, especially at the interchanges with I-75, I-85 and Ga. 400.
“We expect it to get really bad up until 6,” traffic reporter Mark Arum said.
A crash on the Downtown Connector northbound near 10th Street didn’t help things. The multivehicle wreck jammed the road back to University Avenue.
And a car fire on I-75 North at South Marietta Parkway is blocking a right lane and creating delays in Cobb County.
“What you have now going on is parents that are eager to get to their kids, who are getting ready to get out of school,” traffic reporter Mark McKay said. “It’s gonna be an increase in the amount of folks heading out of offices, onto the roadways.”
The treat in all of this? The congestion should be over earlier than normal. McKay said traffic could wrap up as early as 6 p.m. instead of the usual 7:30 p.m.
Halloween traffic, however, raises safety concerns for those out and about.
The Georgia Department of Public Safety said traffic is “notoriously bad” on Halloween. They urged drivers to drive slowly, plan ahead and watch for children in the road. Peak trick-or-treating hours, the DPS said, are between 5:30 and 9:30 p.m.
Pedestrians are 43 percent more likely to be hit and killed by a car on Halloween compared with the rest of the year, a study published Tuesday found.
Children specifically are twice as likely to be killed while walking on Halloween than any other day of the year, according to the nonprofit Safe Kids Worldwide.
And there should be a lot of people out on the streets, thanks to the warm temperatures forecast for Wednesday evening.
Temperatures have already hit 76 degrees in Atlanta. By 6 p.m., when costumed youngsters are heading out, temperatures should still be in the mid-70s. It will drop to the upper 60s by 9 p.m., Channel 2 Action News meteorologist Karen Minton said.
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