Police prepared for large crowd in Lahaina

LAHAINA - Maui police are preparing for Halloween in Lahaina tonight as if there were an organized program, although the LahainaTown Action Committee is barred from conducting any Halloween events, police said.

It will begin when Front Street from Baker Street to Prison Street is closed at 3 p.m. to accommodate the Halloween Keiki Parade. The road closure will also affect Papalaua Street, Lahainaluna Road and Dickenson Street below Wainee and Luakini streets, police Capt. Charles Hirata said.

Parking will be banned on the closed streets and any vehicles on the affected sections of the roads will be towed, he said.

The roadways will be reopened to traffic after the end of the parade, expected about 6 p.m.

The parade sponsored by Soroptomist International of West Maui, will begin at 4:30 p.m., running from the Lahaina Center at Papalaua and Front streets to the Banyan Tree Park. For information, call 283-5193.

Although the LahainaTown Action Committee was denied a permit to sponsor Halloween events in the Lahaina Historic District, Hirata said police still expect a large number of people will show up to observe Halloween.

"We will staff just like in previous years, preparing just as if the same numbers of people are going to be coming into town," he said.

Police monitoring will include enforcement of laws prohibiting consumption of alcohol in any public area of the historic district. Hirata said officers on the street will be equipped with an alcohol sniffing device to check drinks being carrying in cups or other containers.

Officers also will confiscate any devices that appear to be weapons, including toy firearms, swords, knives and clubs, being used as part of a costume. Police also will set up a special detainment area if there are a large number of arrests.