TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Downtown Tucson’s Congress Street is set to become a pedestrian-friendly gathering place on Halloween night, as the city plans to close part of the iconic avenue to vehicle traffic to give revelers more room to celebrate.
The closure is intended to improve pedestrian safety while allowing downtown businesses to benefit from the increased foot traffic expected on Halloween, Oct. 31.
Sophia Ramirez, general manager of Scented Leaf Tea House on Congress Street, said she expects the change to help businesses while making the area safer for people walking between destinations.
“I think it’s going to bring in a lot of business!” Ramirez said.
Ramirez said she and her co-workers have had close calls with vehicles while crossing the street, raising concerns about the risks pedestrians face in a busy downtown area.
“I think it will make it safer,” she said. “I’ve had a few experiences along with some of my co-workers, experience almost kinda getting hit by someone when you’re crossing the street. People are on their phones, especially on halloween…”
Jenn Toothaker, deputy director of the city’s Department of Transportation and Mobility, said pedestrian safety was a primary consideration in planning the closure.
“We wanted to be able to accommodate pedestrians a little bit more so that they aren’t stepping into traffic,” Toothaker said.
The city’s plan is designed to give people more space to move through the area without having to navigate around moving vehicles. The change also could make it easier for people to gather and visit businesses along the downtown corridor.
However, the closure is not intended to shut drivers out of downtown entirely. The city plans to provide information about parking options around both the Fourth Avenue district and downtown, while establishing designated areas for ride-hailing services to pick up and drop off passengers.
“Getting mapping out so people know where they can park, both around the 4th avenue area as well as downtown,” Toothaker said. “We also are going to be implementing ride share zones if you will.”
The Sun Link streetcar is expected to continue operating along Congress Street during the closure, while bus routes will be rerouted to accommodate the event.
The closure is scheduled to remain in effect until 3 a.m. Nov. 1, allowing the pedestrian zone to remain in place through the late-night Halloween festivities.
“The closure will extend until three am the next morning,” Toothaker said. “And that will accommodate all hours of activities.”
For Ramirez, the effort could be an opportunity to explore how pedestrian-focused spaces might contribute to downtown Tucson beyond a single holiday.
“I think those pedestrian spaces really harbor people and kind of create that community Tucson is all about,” she said.
The Halloween closure could offer a glimpse of how reducing vehicle traffic in a concentrated downtown area can create more room for people to walk, socialize and support nearby businesses.
Residents planning to attend Halloween festivities on Congress Street should check city transportation updates for the latest information on street closures, parking, transit detours and designated rideshare areas.
The city’s announcement describes the closure as a pilot program intended to help officials assess pedestrian movement, transportation access and public safety during a busy downtown event. The closure will cover roughly four blocks, from Toole Avenue to just west of Scott Avenue. The effort follows more than a decade of discussions about making Congress Street more pedestrian-friendly.
The timing is significant because Halloween falls on a Saturday this year. An estimated 24,000 people visited downtown Tucson on Halloween night in 2025, according to the Downtown Tucson Partnership, which anticipates another busy night this year.
The recently completed Downtown Links project provides an alternate route for drivers traveling around downtown, helping make the temporary closure possible. Restaurants, bars, entertainment venues and cultural spaces in the affected area are expected to remain open and accessible.
The city will evaluate the pilot to help determine whether similar pedestrian-focused closures could be considered in the future, including a possible daytime program.
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Eddie Celaya is a multimedia journalist at KGUN 9. Born in Tucson and raised in the Phoenix area, Eddie is a life-long Arizonan and graduate of the University of Arizona who loves the desert and mountains and hates the cold. Previously, Eddie worked in print media at the Arizona Daily Star. Share your story ideas with Eddie at edward.celaya@kgun9.com, or by connecting on Facebook or Instagram.
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