October has been a busy month in Sleepy Hollow and Tarrytown, with record numbers of visitors streaming into the riverside villages for autumn- and Halloween-themed events.
But how much of a good thing is too much?
Crowds for street fairs, haunted hayrides, parades and cemetery tours have mushroomed in the past few years, snarling traffic in and around the narrow streets leading into the downtowns.
Lucia Ballas-Traynor, executive director of the Sleepy Hollow Tarrytown Chamber of Commerce, said the chamber’s street fair in Sleepy Hollow, which she said attracted 12,000-14,000 people last year, drew roughly double that on Oct. 5.
Tarrytown’s Halloween parade, which drew about 6,000-7,000 people pre-Covid, now attracts at least twice as many visitors, she said.
“People are coming from Kentucky for a night or two, they’re coming from Ohio, they’re coming from everywhere,” Ballas-Traynor said.
This has been good for many local businesses, which depend on visitors from outside the village to survive. “For the chamber, this has been a success,” she said.
But better coordination is needed among the two villages and the nonprofit organizations that host events and tours in terms of scheduling their weekend events, she said.
While some visitors are heeding the message to arrive by Metro-North trains, the volume of vehicle traffic can become unmanageable.
“I tell people not to go west of Route 9 or you won’t be able to get out for hours,” Ballas-Traynor said.
Sleepy Hollow
An Oct. 7 email blast from Sleepy Hollow Mayor Martin Rutyna stated he had scheduled a meeting to discuss improving traffic routing, safety and event sizes with the Tarrytown, Town of Mount Pleasant and Westchester County police departments.
- A notice on the village’s website advises visitors to take the train to get into the village on October weekends to avoid heavy traffic.
- Two Metro-North stations (Tarrytown and Philipse Manor) are less than a mile from Beekman Avenue (Sleepy Hollow’s main street) and within walking distance to most Halloween attractions.
- Drivers are encouraged to park and board trains in Irvington, Dobbs Ferry, Croton Harmon or Hastings-on-Hudson.
Tarrytown
The Halloween parade steps off from Patriot’s Park at 5 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 26, and concludes on Main Street, where thousands are expected to gather for an evening of music and outdoor dining.
“With all of the planning, the geographic limitations of our small Village is challenging for an event of this magnitude, and we ask for patience from all attendees,” states an email from the village. “Plan to walk or bike if you can, or park early and expect delays.
Tarrytown encourages out-of-town visitors to park in neighboring communities and take the train, with a shuttle bus running from the station up Main Street.
Other advisories from the village include:
- Social media and stationed personnel will post updates on parking before the parade to reduce circling traffic.
- The inner village will be accessible for downtown resident parking only. There will be no event parking in the inner village.
- Additional support from the County and partner law enforcement agencies has been engaged to assist with traffic flow.
- The Washington Street parking lot will be closed for parking and open for food trucks and music to try and disperse the crowds off of Main Street following the parade.
The following traffic closures will be in effect on parade day:
- Broadway/ Route 9: Closed to all traffic from Main Street in Tarrytown to College Avenue in Sleepy Hollow from 4:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. No parking from 2 p.m.
- Main Street in Tarrytown: Closed to all traffic from Broadway to Baylis Court from 3 p.m. to 11 p.m. No parking from 1 p.m.
- Lower Main Street in Tarrytown: A shuttle will run from the train station to Baylis Court for people taking the train or parking in the commuter lots, and so Lower Main Street from Depot Plaza to Baylis Court will be closed from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.
- Washington Street Parking Lot: The Washington Street Parking Lot will be closed to vehicles from 1 p.m. The new indoor municipal garage off of Washington Street will open on October 16 and will be open for downtown resident and business parking.
In Greenburgh, Supervisor Paul Feiner said town police would be stationed at Benedict Avenue and Route 119 on the day of Tarrytown’s parade. The town is considering using variable message signs to alert residents about street closures, he said.
The state Department of Transportation plans to distribute safety messages via social media channels and variable messaging boards, and personnel will be on standby to assist with traffic control for special events.
