Local bars owners also said they prepared for the festivities by stocking up on keg beer and employees.
Chris Rice, the co-owner of Carolina Brewery, located at 460 W. Franklin St. said, "For these types of nights, we generally sell two or three times as much beer."
Rice likened the annual Halloween celebration on Franklin Street to the Fourth of July and Super Bowl Sunday.
Rice also added that in the seven years that Carolina Brewery has been in business, the crowds on Halloween have been at their largest in the past two years.
"From my experience, the crowd in the last two years has definitely been bigger, which is probably why the town is trying to limit the amount of out-of-towners on Franklin Street tonight," he said.
To limit crowd size and out-of-town visitors, Chapel Hill police officers blockaded local roads and placed restrictions on parking within a mile radius of the Franklin Street.
Last year's festivities drew more than 50,000 attendees, costing the town of Chapel Hill nearly $75,000.
Officers began placing road blockades around Franklin Street and surrounding roads at 8 p.m.
Within ten minutes of the blockades going up, about 20 cars attempted to pass the barricade at the intersection of Raleigh Street and South Road.
"(I'm) just letting the barricades work," said a police officer who refused to be named. "Why anyone is trying to drive right now is beyond me."
He said motorists gave him no problems as he instructed them to turn around.
Christine Penington and Kristin Miller, freshmen at Elon University who attempted to pass through the blockades said the restrictions will not hamper their Halloween plans.
They said, "We've never been, but we heard Halloween on Franklin Street is a lot of fun."
But Jim Earnhardt, owner of 23 Steps Bar at 173 1/2 E. Franklin St. said, "I really think it's an overreaction, what with Halloween being a Wednesday night this year, the crowds are going to be small, and now they'll be even smaller."
Earnhardt said that despite restrictions on campus parking and access to local streets, he is optimistic about crowd attendance for the evening.
"I think the turnout is going to be better than people think," he said.
"We're pretty well-stocked. The last few days have been slow, and that leaves us with more for tonight, so we didn't really have to reorder."
But Earnhardt said 23 Steps will be stocking up on extra staff for the Halloween crowds. "We'll probably have seven bouncers and three bartenders working tonight," he said.
"The capacity of the bar is in the mid-200s, but we always try to keep it about 20 below capacity just to be safe."
The City Editor can be reached at citydesk@unc.edu.
