SALEM — As the busy Halloween season approaches, the city is moving to alleviate the downtown parking crunch by adding spaces in a now-vacant lot on Derby Street.
Jason Silva, chief administrative aide to Mayor Driscoll, said Driscoll has reached an agreement with the owner of 289 Derby St. that will allow the city to use the space for parking, beginning early next month. The agreement extends through Haunted Happenings to Jan. 31, which means the lot will also be another place for residents to park during winter snow emergencies.
"We're trying to respond to the concerns expressed by residents and merchants," Silva said. Those concerns were voiced the loudest last spring by downtown condominium owners. During discussions of Salem's new parking management system, they expressed frustration over getting squeezed out of the city garages and lots during Halloween and snowstorms.
The terms of the deal have been worked out, Silva said. It just needs signatures to be finalized.
The lot on Derby Street is next to the Hess gas station and has in recent years hosted a carnival with amusement rides, including a Ferris wheel, during October. It will continue to do so this year as use of the lot for parking will be suspended for two weeks in October, Silva said.
The space, now grass and dirt, will be graded but not paved to accommodate vehicles. It could fit 70 to 80 cars depending on the layout, according to Jim Hacker, Salem's parking director.
The city will charge for the spaces, but the pricing has to be established.
"We haven't determined how we're going to manage it at this point," Hacker said.
The lot, the former site of Dave and Jack's gas station, has been vacant for some time. George Belleau, a Peabody developer, got city approval to put condominiums on the site, but the project was put on hold due to the sagging housing market. One of the property's owners is Henry Bertolon, the millionaire North Shore businessman and Salem State University benefactor.
The city will pay roughly $5,000 a month to use the lot. The agreement could potentially be extended after it expires in late January, Silva said.
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