The Clarks Grove subdivision was denied its request by the Covington City Council to block off some of its streets on Halloween.

The motion was denied 3-2 (Councilman Keith Dalton was absent) with councilmen Michael Whatley, Chris Smith and councilwoman Hawnethia Williams.

The request was denied to set a precedent to other neighborhoods, which are anticipated to request closures of their own for Oct. 31. Rather than close neighborhoods and streets that could possibly slow down public safety response, the council will rely on the expertise of Covington police, fire and emergency departments on a night, which is often busier than others.

“What we do is we try to bring in a lot more officers on Halloween night,” CPD Chief Stacey Cotton said to the council. “It is one of the busier nights. We have issues all over town, that’s another issue with not blocking streets.

“We have to be able to respond across the city.”

The council encouraged public safety and neighborhoods to discuss other safety options, other than closing off streets.

“This is not about Clarks Grove,” Mayor Ronnie Johnston said. “To me it’s about a policy that’s somewhat sustainable. The statement we’re making is that this cannot go on anywhere in the city of Covington. The real solution to this is getting neighborhoods together with public safety and working out a plan the best we can.”