Event traffic management doesn't have to be spooky

Tarrytown Halloween Parade Traffic Plan

The Village of Tarrytown hosts an annual Halloween parade. It’s a fitting Halloween destination due to its proximity to the setting of Washington Irving’s The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and his historic home. A local parade that once drew hundreds of people now draws over 10,000 annually, almost doubling the Village’s population. Traffic jams before and after the parade were considerable due to the Village’s hilly Hudson River terrain that limits the number of routes in and out of Tarrytown. The Village reached out to our team to develop recommendations for traffic management for the parade.

We suggested cordoning off the central village area from visitor parking. This would reduce delays from spectators cruising for an available parking spot on the street. It would also keep the restricted streets clear for emergency vehicles and safer for pedestrians. Additionally, an adjusted shuttle route would bring spectators from the train station and the nearby parking lots to the parade without getting caught in traffic.

Our team provided the Village with a wayfinding plan so cars and pedestrians would know how to navigate to parking and the parade. Signage would also direct cars to lot parking within a 20-minute walk from the parade.

By implementing these recommendations and advertising taking the Train to Tarrytown, the Village encouraged thousands of people to take the train to the event and removed hundreds of cars from Tarrytown's streets. Notably, post-parade road congestion cleared up within 60 minutes, about 60 minutes better than the prior year.

Local businesses in other villages also took advantage of the Train to Tarrytown publicity and provided complementary events for parade spectators before and after the parade.