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3 ways to get to Salem (and avoid the traffic) this October
Editor's Note: This is an excerpt from WBUR's daily morning newsletter, WBUR Today. If you like what you read and want it in your inbox, sign up here.
The Red Sox season is over, largely thanks to a kid from Walpole and some mistakes in the field. The injury-depleted Sox fell 4-0 last night to the Yankees. However, the team has reasons to keep their heads up going into next season, after battling into the playoffs without several of their top young stars.
Until then, let's get to the news:
'Tis the (spooky) season: This is the first weekend of the busiest month for the city of Salem. The Witch City is gearing up for more than 1 million people to visit over the course of October for its annual Haunted Happenings festivities. Salem Mayor Dominick Pangallo told WBUR's Stevee Chapman that the notorious crowds shouldn't deter people from visiting. However, he suggests taking public transit if you're coming over the weekend, due to heavy traffic, street closures and limited parking. "Our downtown is historic, charming, quaint and small," Pangallo said. "So it's walkable, but it's also going to be filled with people." Here are three options for getting there:
- By train: The MBTA is increasing service on the Newburyport/Rockport commuter rail line every weekend in October. A one-way ticket to Salem from North Station costs $8, though the pro move is to just buy an unlimited weekend pass for $10. Check out the schedule here.
- By boat: The pricier but more scenic option is the privately run Boston-Salem ferry, which makes five trips in each direction a day and costs $50 for a roundtrip.
- By car: If public transit isn't convenient, Salem officials suggest parking at one of the satellite lots. Daily shuttles will run downtown from the lots 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Heads up: Somerville is tightening its rules on condo conversions. Starting this month, property owners have to give two years' notice to the city's Condominium Review Board before getting a permit to convert a vacant rental unit into a condo. (The previous requirement was a one-year heads up.) The new rules also require landlords to pay tenants who are forced out due to a condo conversion $14,000 to cover relocation expenses, nearly double the previous amount. That number is even higher — $18,000 — for seniors, disabled and low-to-moderate-income renters.
- Why? Mayor Katjana Ballantyne says condo conversions aren't necessarily a bad thing. But the new rules are intended to help existing renters stay in the high-cost city if their apartment is slated for conversion. The new two-year requirement for vacant apartments specifically takes aim at a suspected trend of landlords who were trying to avoid covering renters' relocation expenses by emptying out an occupied apartment and then declaring it vacant. " Somerville has a rental vacancy rate that fluctuates between 1% and 2%, but units seeking conversion, in 2024, for example, are 80% vacant," Ballantyne told WBUR's Amy Sokolow.
- Zoom out: What are the condo conversion protections in your community? The Massachusetts Legal Assistance Corporation has a town-by-town guide.
Speaking of Somerville: The MBTA is shutting down Green Line service north of North Station tonight at 8 p.m. through the rest of the weekend for work on a new safety system (topical). That includes the entire Green Line Extension.
- Free shuttle buses will run from North Station to Medford/Tufts — but not between Lechmere and Union Square. T officials suggest taking regular ol' buses (that you have to pay for) or walking to a nearby T stop if you'd usually travel via Union Square. Click here for more details on the alternative options.
Meanwhile on the North Shore: The Topsfield Fair opens this afternoon, featuring music, livestock shows and — of course — the annual giant pumpkin contest. The fair dates back about 200 years, developing out of the Essex Agricultural Society in the early 1800s. Fair organizers expect about 500,000 visitors over its 11-day run.
- Know before you go: Advance tickets can be bought online for $18, and you can scroll the daily event highlights here, including Budweiser Clydesdale shows this weekend and a Taylor Swift tribute concert next week (again, topical).
P.S.— What is the proposed future salary for Quincy Mayor Thomas Koch if reelected? Take our Boston News Quiz and test your knowledge of this week's stories.
