Emily DeCock

People on Brooking’s Main Avenue while it was closed for Hobo Day

The City of Brookings’ move to close part of main street to vehicle traffic on Hobo Day is receiving mostly positive reviews.
Traffic was shut down from Third through Fifth streets, which is from the north corner of Nick’s Hamburgers to the south corner of the 9 Bar and Night Club.
The city closed the street from 6 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 12 to 6 a.m. on Sunday, Oct. 13 to reduce the risk of vehicle accidents involving pedestrians.
It was the first time the city shut down Main Avenue for the duration of Hobo Day in many years – if ever.
Brookings Police Chief Michael Drake said the Brookings Police Department saw increased safety because Main Avenue was closed. The feedback the department had received this year, compared to previous years, was that pedestrians didn’t fear being struck by a vehicle because of the increased space to move around without crowding.
When asked what expectations he had for the closure Chief of Police, Michael Drake said, “I was expecting improved safety as it applies to vehicular and pedestrian interactions. The department was hoping to mitigate the possibility of a serious or fatal outcome due to distracted or intoxicated driving in that busy corridor.”
When walking downtown you could see that the Brookings Police Department set up barricades where these streets intersected Main
Avenue. At the barricade on Fifth Street, there was a trailer that authorities used to store the various technologies they use for patrolling.
SDSU student, Chandler Leen, liked the fact that Main Avenue was closed.
“Knowing that it was closed and no drunk drivers were coming through downtown and all that, or even just regular drivers, made me, and I’m sure other students, feel a lot safer,” Leen said.
Even though Main Avenue is home to most of Brookings’ bars and had no traffic running through it on Hobo Day, the number of DUI arrests increased compared to last year. There were six this year and two in 2023.
“This could be due to increased personnel assigned to the event and cultural change within the department to increase the targeted enforcement of the vehicle and traffic laws, especially when it comes to intoxicated and distracted driving,” Drake said.
The closure on Main Avenue did raise the concern that there would not be enough parking, and that people might have to walk far to reach downtown.
But around Main Avenue, Drake said parking was maintained because of the various free public parking lots.
Also, public information officer Sherry Fuller Bordewyk put together and distributed maps locating the parking lots, so the public knew where they were.
There were also reports of confusion for Lyft drivers in terms of where they should drop off and pick up people needing a ride.
Drake said that Brookings published information about the process for Lyft drivers, but that next year they will get that information out earlier to minimize confusion.
The street closure did not seem to prevent people from visiting downtown on Hobo Day.
Kevin Raab, the owner of Pints and Quarts Bar and Grill, said that even though the road was closed there was little to no impact on their sales.
“If we lost a customer or two because of the closure, but it prevented a serious injury or worse, then it’s way worth it,” Raab said.
Pints and Quarts was busy the entire day, and as far as Raab knew, nobody skipped going downtown because of the closure. He said he thinks that the closure was a great idea and should continue in future years.
One new thing that may have gone unnoticed during Hobo Day was the use of electronic bicycles that the police department used to patrol around Brookings. These bikes cut down the response times of officers and worked fantastic, according to Drake.