BUFFALO, N.Y. — The Great American Solar Eclipse will be April 8, 2024 and the City of Buffalo and surrounding areas will be in the path of totality.
Officials are preparing for thousands of people to come to Buffalo for this event and are encouraging businesses to close and for folks to stay home if they don't have already have plans on that day.
However, if you do have to drive to your location, the New York State Thruway Authority has issued some do's and don'ts during the eclipse:
DO:
- Use parking areas such as a Service Area, Text Stop, and Park and Ride lots for short-term parking only.
- Find a safe viewing location off the Thruway system.
- Give yourself plenty of time to arrive at your destination well before the eclipse.
- Arrive early and stay late.
DON'T:
- Park on the shoulder of the highway or stop in the middle of traffic
- Block traffic
- Use handheld devices while driving
- Grill or use open flame on Thruway property
- Drive Recklessly
Law Enforcement is already preparing for large numbers of people converging on the Queen City that day.
The State Police and other first responders are also planning for what could happen.
New York State Trooper James O'Callaghan told 2 On Your Side in February, "We're trying to get numbers on an estimation of how many people will be here - could be a million, could be half a million. We're looking at that. We're getting those numbers from previous eclipses in different areas."
In 2017, places like Oregon experienced masses of people with some reports that it took more than 20 hours to deal with traffic jams in some areas.
O'Callaghan notes "What we've seen in the past at other locations - you know people pull off in unsafe areas. Could be on the Thruway, could be on a side road, it could be at an intersection - elongated looking at the eclipse and that we have not happen. We want make sure that people are safe as possible during that two hour span of time."