Overview
- Mechanical vehicle barriers borrowed from a regional homeland-security council are now in place to protect pedestrian zones, with single-officer operation for quick openings and closures.
- Police doubled patrols for Halloween night, installed new roadblocks to keep vehicles off restricted streets, and reiterated zero tolerance for public drinking and disorderly conduct.
- Downtown closures include Charter, Derby, Essex, Front, Federal and Washington streets, along with Hawthorne Boulevard, with authority to shut additional roads if needed.
- Visitors are urged to use the MBTA commuter rail or the Boston–Salem ferry, with satellite parking options in Beverly and late-night train departures scheduled for Boston, Newburyport and Rockport.
- About 100 portable restrooms supplement limited city facilities after National Park Service bathrooms at the Salem Maritime National Historic Site closed during the federal shutdown.