Every residential street that closes in San Francisco on Halloween needs an SFMTA permit. As of October 12, 2026, Glen Park held 5 of the 30 residential Halloween-night closures permitted citywide. Those 5 permits cover 13 street segments, more than any other neighborhood in the city. Only Sunset/Parkside has more permits, with 6, and those cover 6 segments. Most of the city's other neighborhoods have one closure or none.
Haunted Chenery is the part people from elsewhere know about. The permit count shows something else. In Glen Park, Halloween has spread past one famous street onto blocks across the neighborhood, and it is kept going by neighbors who apply for the permits, buy the candy, staff the barricades and carve the pumpkins.
The Count, Set Against the Rest of the City
Project SF builds its tally from SFMTA permit data and re-runs it every Monday until Halloween, so the numbers can still move. It reports totals by neighborhood rather than street names, because residential closures point to people's homes. Here is how Glen Park compared with several other San Francisco neighborhoods as of October 12:
| Neighborhood | Permitted closures | Street segments |
|---|---|---|
| Sunset/Parkside | 6 | 6 |
| Glen Park | 5 | 13 |
| Bernal Heights | 3 | 11 |
| Mission | 3 | 11 |
| Marina | 1 | 4 |
| Castro/Upper Market | 1 | 1 |
| Presidio Heights | 1 | 1 |
The count uses the city's 41 Analysis Neighborhoods, and those boundaries sometimes differ from what locals call a place. Even so, the gap is hard to miss. Glen Park has more than twice the closures of Bernal Heights or the Mission and five times the Marina's total. Its 13 segments also show that some Glen Park permits cover several connected blocks.
The streets themselves are not public, and this post does not guess at them. The number still matters for planning. If you live a few blocks from Chenery, your own street may be quieter than usual on October 31, or busier.
Chenery, Hour by Hour
Haunted Chenery is the anchor, and on a Saturday Halloween the timing matters. The Glen Park Association gives two end times. The event itself runs from 5 to 9 p.m., but the street is closed to cars only until 8:30. Here is the evening as the Association lays it out:
- 4:30 p.m. The first 90-minute volunteer shift begins. Volunteers help residents who need to drive out of or back into the closed area.
- 5:00 p.m. The street closes and car-free trick-or-treating starts.
- 8:30 p.m. The closure ends and cars can use Chenery again.
- 9:00 p.m. The event's listed end, and the latest any volunteer shift runs.
That last half hour after the barricades come down is the one to plan around if you have small children in tow. Trick-or-treating goes on, but cars are back on the street.
SFMTA's official trick-or-treat street closures page explains the permit and safety process. In past years the closed stretch has run between Elk and Diamond. That was the segment in Mission Local's 2025 list, with hours of 4 to 9:30 p.m. that year. It was also the segment in the San Francisco Standard's 2023 trick-or-treating guide, which described gory displays, drinks for adults and candy for children. Before you head out, check the SFMTA page for the 2026 segment.
Who Pays for the Night
The Glen Park Association calls Haunted Chenery an "organically grown event." In practice, a few parties share the costs.
The barricades are paid for by a grant from the Civic Joy Fund. The Association says the grant means it is "once again able to make this organically grown event a safer one by closing the street." The Fund's Block Party Fund helps with funding and permits for gatherings held on San Francisco streets, and an SFMTA closure permit is required. The Fund lists typical grants of $1,000 to $2,500, with some awards up to $4,000. The Association has not said how much it received for 2026.
The labor comes from volunteers. The grant pays for the barricades, but the Association still needs people to work them. "We still need volunteers to work a shift helping vehicles that need to leave or return home," its notice says. To sign up, email [email protected].
The candy is mostly bought by the households on Chenery. According to the Association, the neighbors there "put up with a significant amount of inconvenience on Halloween" and also "put out a significant amount of candy." To spread that cost, the Association collects donated bags of candy at Critter Fritters, 670 Chenery Street, and the shop's team delivers them to houses along the street.
So the event depends on many small contributions, and anyone who lives nearby can add one. Dropping a bag at Critter Fritters before the weekend is the simplest.
Up the Hill on Sussex Street
The Vella family's pumpkins are Glen Park's second Halloween landmark, and the oldest. The Association says the family has carved thousands of pumpkins over the past 31 years. On Halloween the display glows from dusk until 11 p.m. and draws hundreds of visitors up the hill.
The 2026 display has 175 pumpkins:
- 35 real organic pumpkins, carved over the four days before Halloween
- 40 newly carved foam pumpkins
- 100 foam pumpkins saved from earlier years
The foam pumpkins are how a display this size keeps going. Most of the 175 last from year to year, so each fall the family adds new work instead of starting over. You can see the 2026 additions in the Association's gallery, with titles like "Moonlit Fox" and "Japanese Fan Woman."
New this year, neighbors can help carve. The family is opening its garage workshop on October 28, 29 and 30. Space is limited, so you need to RSVP for a specific night, and you bring your own organic or foam pumpkin. To RSVP, email [email protected] and the Association will put you in touch with the family.
The timing makes for an easy route. The Vella display stays lit until 11, two and a half hours after Chenery reopens to cars. Families can do Chenery during the closure and walk up to Sussex Street afterward.
How Big the Crowd Gets
The best-known attendance figure is from 2017. In its Halloween 2017 report, the Glen Park Association passed along a San Francisco Police Department estimate of more than 3,000 visitors. That figure, the barricades, the volunteer shifts and the 13 permitted segments in this year's permit data all point to an evening that goes well beyond one street.
For residents, that shapes the practical plan. Bring candy if you live on or near a closed block. If you are trick-or-treating, arrive at Chenery close to 5. Finish before 8:30, then walk up to Sussex Street to see the pumpkins.
If you're thinking about what your own Glen Park block is worth, or want to talk through what's happening on the streets around you, Beverly Barnett and her team would be glad to help. Schedule a Private Consultation.
