The City of Salem has 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.
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 (from Boston, or new this year from Hingham), 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 Thursday, October 31, starting no later than 4:00 p.m, depending on crowd size and public safety the closures may be earlier. Closures will also be made on Saturday and Sunday October 26 and October 27. For real-time traffic and road closure notices, download the My Salem MA app for mobile devices and enable notifications. Traffic and road closure notices will also be shared on the City of Salem’s Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/cityofsalemma), and the City of Salem’s Twitter/X page (https://x.com/CityofSalemMA).
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 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 5:00 p.m. to 9:00 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.
No Parking – Tow Zone Areas
A parking ban will be in effect on October 3 on the following streets between 4:00 p.m. and 9:00 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 October 3 from 5:00 p.m. until approximately 9:00 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 9:00 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 19
The Devil’s Chase road race starts at 8:00 a.m. at the Salem Willows soccer field on Fort Avenue. No road closures are planned, however expect traffic impacts until 10:30 am 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 28th and 29th, October 5, 6, 12, 13 & 14, 19 & 20th, 26 & 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 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. every Saturday and Sunday.
The following chart outlines the 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, and Washington Square East.
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 26 and October 27. Visitors for the weekend 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 4:00 p.m. on the 31st. 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 close 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.
Please note that the MBTA closes the MBTA Salem garage from 6:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m. on Halloween. 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.
