With Haunted Happenings in Salem coming to a close this week and with Halloween falling on a Friday this year, Linda Robson, PhD, a business professor at Endicott College whose research focuses on event risk management, shared her insight. Robson wrote the Robson Risk Management Model, a systematic method for event planners to reduce risk with proactive planning.
A resident of Salem, Robson praises the Salem Police and the City for their annual management of the massively popular month-long Haunted Happenings celebration: “My experience with Salem has not changed over the last 17 years. I feel like the Police and the City work very, very well together to create a safe environment.” Salem achieves this while welcoming more than 1 million visitors to the city of around 44,000 (according to the 2020 U.S. Census) every year during the month of October.
“Every year you see some slight differences,” she went on. “For instance, this year they have the large cement road blocks in response to that lunatic with a vehicle in New Orleans.” She described the City’s risk management as “evolving” and “proactive,” saying, “They’ve done a really great job of policing without it being overwhelming” while also avoiding “under policing, for that matter. There’s enough visibility that you know they’re there, but it doesn’t make you nervous.”
She notes that she has little concern about crowd surges and crowd crush because of the way Salem is organized with many side streets, and the way the City has planned the festivities by shutting down roads and distributing events across the downtown area. Shutting down roads also has the effect of making it easier for emergency vehicles to make their way through the packed streets because “pedestrians are easier to move out of the way,” according to Robson.
She added, “Yes it’s a pain for those of us that need to get through Salem, but it is so much safer all the way around.” According to Robson, with so many people around, it would be worse if there were fewer dedicated pedestrian areas because of how little some pedestrians pay attention to the road, “assuming everybody is going to pay attention for them.”
By limiting driver-pedestrian interaction and providing police to direct traffic where it does happen, not only are there fewer opportunities for accidents, but it also keeps the traffic moving.
“It reduces the frustration of drivers,” Robson said. “You could end up with a steady stream of pedestrians, which means that nobody could ever drive through.”
Robson gives these tips for visitors attending the last few nights of Haunted Happenings:
- Take the train! Not only is parking an expensive nightmare in downtown Salem this time of year, but additional cars in the area increase congestion and make things less safe for everyone. If you have to drive, Salem High School provides a shuttle bus from their parking lot outside of the downtown area into the main part of the Happenings.
- Pay attention and be aware of your surroundings! “Large groups of people increase risks,” Robson said. Not only are there risks from other people in the crowd directly, but the dynamics of crowd movement make it easier to be swept up or separated from your group.
- Be aware of side streets and other routes in case of emergency. It’s important to know where you can get off the road, for instance if you need to allow an emergency vehicle through the crowd.
