SALEM, MA — As the Halloween season starts earlier and earlier each year in the holiday’s unofficial hometown of Salem, city officials are urging visitors to use public transportation and its downtown free shuttle service from satellite lots with 1.2 million or more revelers expected to descend upon the Witch City over the next six weeks.
This past weekend saw the Museum Place Garage and South Harbor Garage fill up by 11 a.m. while several downtown streets had to be closed to vehicular traffic so that the influx of pedestrians could walk around safely.
To help alleviate the car crunch downtown in October, the city for the seventh year will offer free shuttle service from Salem State University, Salem High School and the lot on Jefferson Avenue behind Salem Hospital on weekends in October, as well as Indigenous Peoples’ Day on Oct. 14.
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The three lots total nearly 800 parking spaces with shuttle service to and from Riley Plaza from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. each weekend day.
“Allowing people to park at these satellite lots has helped reduce demand for downtown parking and lessen the number of cars driving into and around downtown,” Salem Mayor Dominick Pangallo said. “Since the City of Salem began this service in 2017, the service has kept thousands of cars out of downtown Salem. While a lot of visitors use the shuttle, we also see many Salem
residents use it to easily get to and from downtown Salem on October weekends. I encourage everyone planning a visit to Salem this October to make use of the free satellite parking lots and this shuttle service.”
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Mayor Pangallo’s office on Monday released its list of planned road closures for Halloween-related events and the holiday itself while noting that Salem police will close roadways at any point if they determine it is required for public safety reasons.
Those visiting the Witch City this spooky season are advised to take the commuter rail — including parking at the Beverly station and taking the train one stop as the Salem MBTA garage will also fill up closer to the holiday — or the ferry from Boston or Hingham.
Downtown road closures and parking bans will begin this upcoming weekend (Sept. 28-29) and continue each weekend through Oct. 27:
Essex Street from Hawthorne Boulevard to New Liberty Street and Essex Street from Barton Square to Washington Street will be closed to through traffic and no on-street parking will be allowed from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. every Saturday and Sunday.
Additional weekend closures will be implemented in phases closer to the holiday.
There will also be No Parking postings on portions of Washington Square North and South during the weekends in September/October, reserved for authorized event vehicles, and Washington Square East.
The following are the additional planned events/closures during October:
October 3: Grand Opening Parade
The Haunted Happenings Parade starts at 6:30 p.m. at Shetland Office Park on Congress Street on October 3. The parade route starts at Congress Street at Shetland Park with a left onto Derby Street, a right onto Central Street, a left onto Front Street, a right onto Washington Street, a right onto the Essex Street Pedestrian Mall, a left onto Washington Square, and into the Salem Common.
Roads along the parade route will be closed to traffic. Anticipate traffic delays on Route 114 and Route 1A. Route 1A from Derby Street to Brown Street will be closed to traffic from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Other road closures will be Congress Street, Washington Street, Essex Street from Washington Street to Union Street, Central Street, Front Street, and Washington Square West, North, and South. There will be no parking tow zones along the entire parade route.
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No Parking – Tow Zone Areas
A parking ban will be in effect on Oct. 3 on the following streets between 4 p.m. and 9 p.m. Any vehicle parked in these areas will be towed.
• Congress Street both sides from Derby Street to Harbor Street.
• Essex Street from Washington Street to Hawthorne Boulevard.
• Central Street both sides from Charter Street to Derby Street.
• Derby Street both sides from Congress Street to Lafayette Street.
• Front Street both sides from Washington Street to Lafayette Street.
• Washington Square both sides from Essex Street to Brown Street.
• Parking meter spaces at the intersection of Charter Street, Front Street, and Central Street.
• Washington Street between Essex Street and Front Street, metered spaces.
• Front Street Lot
Road Closures
The following roads will be closed on Oct. 3 from 5 p.m. until approximately 9 p.m.
• Congress Street will be closed from Harbor Street to Derby Street.
• Derby Street will be closed from Congress Street to Central Street.
• Commuters will not be able to use Route 1A between New Derby and Brown Street which includes Derby Street, Hawthorne Boulevard and Washington Square at the Common entrance.
• Front Street
• Essex Street will be closed between North Street and Hawthorne Blvd
• Washington Street will be closed between New Derby and Bridge St
Garage Access
• Vehicles parked in the South Harbor Garage will not be able to exit between 5:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m.
• The Museum Place Garage entrance will only be accessible from Church Street or St. Peter Street. Vehicles exiting the Museum Place Garage will only be able to take a left onto to Brown Street and a right onto St. Peter Street.
Witch City 5K: October 12
The Salem YMCA Witch City 5K road race starts at 9 a.m. at the Salem Willows. No road closures are planned, however, drivers should anticipate traffic impacts along the following roadways: Memorial Drive, Essex Street, Route 1A, Route 114 including Hawthorne Boulevard, Derby Street, and Fort Avenue, ending at Restaurant Row.
Devil’s Chase: October 19
The Devil’s Chase road race starts at 8 a.m. at the Salem Willows soccer field on Fort Avenue. No road closures are planned, however, drivers should expect traffic impacts until 10:30 a.m. along the route. Route: Restaurant Row to Memorial Drive to Szetela Lane. Right to walking path before Webb Street, left Andrews, crossing Washington Square into the Common and exiting at Forrester Street. Washington Square East, then right to Essex Street, left onto Little Hawthorne Boulevard, left on Derby Street to Fort Avenue to Winter Island Road. Winter Island Road back to Columbus Square, right to Columbus Avenue, right onto Bay View Avenue, left onto Beach Avenue, left on Sutton Avenue, right onto Bay View Avenue, right onto Willows Access Road. Follow walking path around the backside of the Willows by the yacht club, exit back on to Restaurant Row, follow onto Memorial Drive, right at Szetela Lane, to Memorial Drive, left onto Fort Avenue, and left onto Memorial Drive by the soccer field to finish.
Halloween: October 31
Halloween events will include multiple road closures and heavy traffic impacts for the entire day and night and are likely to be implemented on Oct. 26 and Oct. 27 as well.
Downtown Salem streets will close to all traffic no later than 4 p.m. on Oct. 31. Road closures include: Essex Street at Crombie Street and Barton Square to Union Street, Washington Street from New Derby Street to Bridge Street, Federal Street from St. Peter’s Street to North Street, Washington Square North and West from Essex Street to Brown Street, Hawthorne Boulevard, Derby Street, Route 1A, Congress Street near Pickering Wharf, Charter Street, Central Street, Front Street, and Lafayette Street from New Derby Street to Front Street.
Franklin Street and Bridge Street will also be closed to all traffic between the westerly overpass ramps and Sgt. James Ayube Memorial Drive from 9:30 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. for the closing fireworks.
The MBTA closes the MBTA Salem garage from 6 p.m. to 1 a.m. on Halloween. Cars will not be permitted to enter or exit the garage between these hours.
(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at [email protected]. X/Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)
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