As a record number of tourists visit Salem, Massachusetts to enjoy spooky season, city officials are asking people to avoid driving in, and instead opt for other transit methods.
Leaders held a news conference Friday to address their public safety plan for the second half of October, and encouraged people to visit Salem by taking the Commuter Rail, Salem Ferry, or even their broomstick.
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"What we know about October from our past experience is the crescendo builds as we get closer to Halloween and the end of the month," Salem Mayor Kim Driscoll said. "And typically the last two weekends of October, we see record crowds. And this year, we've seen record crowds earlier."
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Last weekend, over 157,000 people visited Salem, according to the city. Over half a million people traveled to the Witch City during the first 16 days of October, marking a 15% increase from the same period last year.
"For a city of 44,000 residents and just over 5,000 public parking spaces, that's a lot," Mayor Driscoll said. "While we love sharing our city with visitors and the world, we are a nearly-400-year-old city and we have roads that are built for horse and buggy more than they are for the number of people who are trying to arrive here by car, particularly on Saturdays."
Mayor Driscoll warned that if you plan to visit Salem by car, you may find yourself dealing with some major traffic issues, and then have trouble even finding a parking spot. Plus, the city is pulling in additional state and regional resources to help enforce parking rules. She encourages people to instead take the train or the ferry, which leaves from Long Wharf in Boston, to visit.
The MBTA's Commuter Rail is kicking up service to help people travel to Salem during the final two weekend of October.
There will be seven inbound trains and six outbound trains for additional service between North Station and Salem, and between Salem, Beverly and Newburyport for the next two weekends to accommodate riders visiting Salem for Halloween festivities.
In addition to the existing all-day service, there will be seven more inbound trains from Salem to North Station, with at least two trains an hour after 6 p.m. There will also be four additional outbound trains from North Station to Salem, and two more outbound trains from Salem, one to Beverly and one to Newburyport.
The Salem Ferry is also running larger boats from Long Wharf in Boston.
"Pack some patience and plan ahead," Mayor Driscoll said. "There are going to be long lines and big crowds, so if you can buy your tickets in advance, if you can think about where you want to visit and think about your itinerary ahead of time, it's going to allow for a better experience while you're here."
The mayor believes the record crowds are due to pent-up demand from the pandemic and the release of Hocus Pocus II, which came out this year. She also said that the additional crowds are likely linked to Halloween's growing popularity as a consumer spending holiday. Many local businesses are enjoying a big boom in business, thanks to the large crowds.
"The public safety plan that we implement, and we start working on this in November, almost as soon as Halloween is over the previous year, involves closing roads in the central part of downtown Salem right off the bat on the days we're expecting the largest crowds, Salem Police Chief Lucas Miller said. "But we then also implement road closures on a more dynamic basis, as pedestrians begin to fill up the streets on those busy days."
You can find a full list of Salem's Haunted Happenings here. Officials also encourage people to download the Destination Salem app. For road closure updates and parking capacity information, click here.
