Written by the Office of Mayor Dominick Pangallo
Mayor Dominick Pangallo and the City of Salem have announced planned and anticipated road closures for October in Salem, including lot closures and traffic impacts from planned special events. The Salem Police will close roadways at any point if they determine they should be closed for public safety reasons. To ensure public safety, some of the closures in 2025 will be more secure with the use of harder barricades. Throughout the month of October, as it is for the rest of the year, the single greatest priority in Salem will be the safety of residents and visitors alike. Safety measures will include but not be limited to road closures; significant police deployments, in vehicles, on bikes, on foot and in plainclothes; weapons bans; the installation of permanent and temporary cameras; and counter-drone measures.
Visitors to Salem in October should not plan to drive into downtown Salem, especially on weekends. Traffic is heavy and parking is severely limited. Plan to drive to a free satellite parking lot and ride the free shuttle, take the Salem Ferry, or ride the commuter rail (about 30 minutes from North Station in Boston or about 5 minutes from the downtown Beverly station).
While there are currently road closures planned downtown for Friday, October 31, starting no later than 12:00noon, depending on crowd size and public safety the closures may be earlier. Closures will also be made throughout the month of October. Please see the chart within this press release, below (and attached) for a detailed list of planned and anticipated road closures. For real-time traffic and road closure notices download the My Salem MA app or the Destination Salem app for mobile devices and enable notifications.
Mayor’s Night Out: September 26th
The City of Salem presents Mayor’s Night Out on the pedestrian mall starting at 5:30 near the fountain. Essex Street from Hawthorne Boulevard to New Liberty Street will be closed to vehicles from 4:00pm-8:00pm.
October 2: Grand Opening Parade
The Haunted Happenings Parade starts at 6:30pm at Shetland Office Park on Congress Street on October 2. The parade route is as follows: from Congress Street at Shetland Park the parade will take 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 4:00 p.m. to 9:30 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.
Please Note that there will be barricades along the entire parade route this year to enhance safety of the spectators. This will require roads to close earlier than in past years.
No Parking – Tow Zone Areas
A parking ban will be in effect on October 2 on the following streets please note the individual times and note that the timing will be earlier than last year. Any vehicle parked in these areas will be towed.
- Congress Street both sides from Derby Street to Harbor Street: Parking ban to begin at 7AM
- Essex Street from Hawthorne Blvd. to New Liberty: Parking ban to begin at 2PM
- Essex Street from Washington Street to Hawthorne Boulevard: No deliveries to be allowed after 10AM-No exceptions will be made
- Central Street both sides from Charter Street to Derby Street: Parking ban to begin at 2PM
- Derby Street both sides from Congress Street to Lafayette Street: Parking ban to begin at 2PM
- Front Street both sides from Washington Street to Lafayette Street: Parking ban to begin at 7AM
- Washington Square both sides from Essex Street to Brown Street: Parking ban to begin at 2PM
- Parking meter spaces at the intersection of Charter Street, Front Street, and Central Street: Parking ban to begin at 2PM
- Washington Street between Lynde Street and Front Street both sides: Parking ban to begin at 2PM
- Front Street Lot: Parking ban to begin at 2PM
- Essex from Barton to Washington: Parking ban to begin at 2PM
Road Closures
The following roads will be closed on October 2 from 4:00pm until approximately 9:30pm.
- Congress Street will be closed from Harbor Street to Derby Street.
- Derby Street will be closed from Congress Street to Lafayette 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 between New Derby and Bridge
Garage Access
- Vehicles parked in the South Harbor Garage will not be able to exit until approximately 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 4th
The Salem YMCA Witch City 5K road race starts at 9:00 a.m. at the Salem Willows. No road closures are planned, however 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 18th
The Devil’s Chase road race starts at 8:00am at the Salem Willows soccer field on Fort Avenue. No road closures are planned, however expect traffic impacts until 11:00am 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.
Road Closures September/October weekends: September 27th and 28th, October 4, 5, 11, 12 &13, 18, 19, 25 & 26
Essex Street from Hawthorne Boulevard to New Liberty Street as well as Front Street from Washington St to Central St will be closed to through traffic and no on-street parking will be allowed from 9:00am to 10:00pm every Saturday and Sunday.
Essex Street from Barton Square to Washington Street will utilize hard barricades every weekend from Friday at noon through Sunday night at midnight.
Please Note: Front Street will have more programing and vendors in the street this year.
The following chart outlines the estimated road closures and time frames during Haunted Happenings:
All information above is subject to change. The Salem Police Department will close any street at any time if they determine that a public safety issue exists.
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.
Halloween: October 31
Halloween events will include multiple road closures and heavy traffic impacts for the entire day and night. Note that heavy traffic and likely road closures are also anticipated for the weekend prior to Halloween, October 25th, and October 26th as well as for the weekend of Halloween, on November 1st and 2nd. Visitors during weekends and on Halloween are strongly encouraged to take the commuter rail or ferry to get to Salem. Traffic impacts will be significant, including on highways leading to the City. Expect major traffic impacts on Route 114 and Route 1A, as well as likely impacts and delays on Route 128.
Downtown Salem streets will close to all traffic no later than Noon on October 31st. Road closures include: Essex Street from Crombie Street 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 Williams Street. Brown Street from New Liberty to Washington Square N. Hawthorne Boulevard, Derby Street from Lafayette to Congress Street. Charter Street, Central Street, Front Street, and Lafayette Street from New Derby Street to Front Street.
Bridge Street will also close to all traffic between the westerly overpass ramps and Sgt. James Ayube Memorial Drive from 9:15pm to 11:30pm for the end-of-night drone show, which will replace the fireworks of years past in closing out the festivities this year.
Please note that the MBTA closes the MBTA Salem garage from 6:00pm to 1:00am on Halloween night. Cars will not be permitted to enter or exit the garage between these hours.
All information above is subject to change. The Salem Police Department will close any street at any time if they determine that a public safety issue exists.
Photo credit: Jess Shada – Destination Salem
