HOUGHTON — Houghton will not have its annual Treat Street this year, though regular Halloween night trick-or-treating will continue.

The annual event draws thousands of people to Shelden Avenue in Houghton, which is closed to traffic for several hours as trick-or-treaters line up at local businesses for candy or go to the haunted house at the City Center.

“I just cannot see holding Treat Street this year in this environment,” City Manager Eric Waara said at Wednesday’s City Council meeting. “Bringing 2,000 to 3,000 people in close proximity, it just doesn’t seem like a good idea to do that.”

The traditional trick-or-treating hours of 5 to 8 p.m. on Halloween will continue. As they usually do, the Houghton Fire Department will be out in neighborhoods making sure people are trick-or-treating safely, Waara said.

“I certainly don’t see the city ‘canceling Halloween,’ because it’s going to happen whether we sanction it or not,” he said.