SALEM, MASS. (WHDH) - It’s spooky season in Salem and, when it comes to visiting the city and its Halloween festivities, local officials are asking people to do anything but drive.
“Take the train, take the ferry, come by bike, come by broom,” said Mayor Dominick Pangallo on Tuesday. “But try not to come by car if you can avoid it.”
A famous Halloween destination, Salem averaged between 80,000 and 82,000 visitors each Saturday in October last year, according to Pangallo.
The city only has roughly 4,000 public parking spaces in its downtown area, Pangallo said.
“On the Saturdays and Sundays leading up to Halloween and on Halloween itself, it becomes really impossible,” said Police Chief Lucas Miller.
“We don’t have the capacity for parking that many people,” Pangallo said.
While officials urge visitors to avoid driving, the MBTA Commuter Rail is ramping up service, planning to run trains from North Station to Salem in 30-40 minute intervals on weekends throughout October, according to Keolis Commuter Services CEO Abdellah Chajai.
The ferry running to Salem will also be a much larger vessel this year with a capacity of 600.
Salem has a variety of attractions particularly during the Halloween season.
Once visitors arrive in town, though, officials are putting out a reminder that there are more than 45,000 people who call the city home.
“It’s a way that we help tell our story and tell our history,” Pangallo said. “But we encourage you to visit responsibly.”
For those looking to get back into Boston from Salem, the Commuter Rail will be running late train service, with the last trains leaving Salem for North Station on weekends at 12:35 a.m. this year.
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