BUFFALO, N.Y. — The City of Buffalo laid out its plan on Monday to deal with the city's population perhaps doubling as people flock to Buffalo to view the Total Solar Eclipse.
According to experts, Buffalo is expected to be prime viewing for the celestial viewing but according to city officials, it won't be an easy day to get around.
"In Buffalo, we pride ourselves that we can get anywhere in 20 minutes, only this weekend that's not going to be the case," said Buffalo Police Captain Marcus Rogowski.
With some 500,000 to 1 million people expected to start arriving in Western New York as soon as Thursday traffic is expected to build and become "highly congested" around the Eclipse.
Prineville, Oregon saw a 30-mile backup during the 2017 Solar Eclipse, according to our sister station KGW in Portland. Examples like this have helped inform the City of Buffalo's planning.
On Monday, the city announced Buffalo City Hall will be closed and trash and recycling picked up will be delayed one day.
"Our goal is to eliminate as much of that traffic from our perspective that could be on the streets," said Department of Public Works Commissioner Nate Marton.
Buffalo Fire Commissioner William Renaldo warned about potential impacts to emergency services because of the traffic but reassured neighbors that the city's plan has taken that into account.
City Emergency Manager Thomas Luby added that cell providers have assured the city their networks will be ready to handle any increased demand.
"We've worked to identify staging locations so we can have a portion of our resources in each part of the city," Buffalo Police Captain Rogowski added.
Several city officials including Mayor Byron Brown made a point to emphasize that with the City of Buffalo in the path of totality, city residents shouldn't have to go anywhere to experience the eclipse.
"If people are viewing the events from their homes you will be happy to know that there is no bad vantage point to view the eclipse in the City of Buffalo," said Mayor Brown.
If people choose to venture to a city or Olmstead Park, the Mayor said there will be additional people and signage to direct neighbors where they should go, and where to park.
City officials advised residents to think of the Eclipse as a snowstorm, to plan, and to pick up medication or groceries long before April 8, to avoid issues.
Much like a snowstorm, the city is planning to have more staff working. The Buffalo Eclipse Taskforce worked with the city's finance department to account for those expenditures and get estimates from the various departments involved.
"There is a little bit of an estimate because you don't know how long these operational periods will go or what the real demand will be but they've done their due diligence," said Lubey.
The city's plan is broken into three stages before, during, and after the eclipse.
Lubey cautioned that the last stage may be the toughest to handle, as the mass exodus from Buffalo occurs once the celestial event is over.