54mf

I'm not the mayor, but I live in Salem. Local resident for over 4 years.

No. Salem isn't even a little bit spooky. Salem is a wonderful small town with a lot of colonial heritage. Not a ghost, ghoul, or goblin to be seen.

Welcome, Mayor Driscoll! As a fellow Salemander, you don't need to worry about any ridiculous witch questions from me. ;)

My wife and I have been living in Salem for the last 4-5 years, and we've seen the city grow in a lot of really wonderful ways. The downtown restaurant scene is getting better and better, the city's handling of the recent minor parking meter reset fiasco was just perfect. Kudos for a job well done!

My biggest problem with Salem is the traffic. Washington St. is a disaster by mid-morning, and there aren't any good alternatives for getting from south to north, or vice-versa. Taking my wife to work in the afternoon - from Canal St. to north Salem - takes 10-15 minutes for a 2 mile trip. With the planned development on Dodge St. and the new apartment complex on Lafayette adding traffic to an already-backed-up Washington/Derby intersection, the situation is only going to get worse.

Does the city have any plans to address downtown congestion in the near future?