Officials in Kingston, Ont., know the city will briefly plunge into darkness during Monday’s total solar eclipse, and they know crowds of people are coming to experience it.
But questions about just how many will visit, and how other factors including the weather that day will affect turnout, are difficult to answer in advance.
It’s those unknowns that make planning for the event incredibly challenging, city officials say.
The city has told residents to brace for anywhere from 70,000 to 500,000 visitors — a massive range, the high end of which would triple Kingston’s population and place unprecedented demand on local roads and other services.
Emergency services commissioner Brad Joyce said the city has never experienced an event like this.
“What we have to do is plan for the absolute worst scenario that could be from a traffic congestion perspective, but hope for the best,” he said as the big day approached.
Police drones will be in the sky Monday, assessing the situation on the roads. At ground level, traffic signal staff and public works crews will be deployed across the city to provide the latest information to the city’s emergency operations centre and respond to any immediate issues that arise, according to Joyce.
He’s also weighing how to empty porta-potties at eclipse viewing sites, how to respond to any vehicles that break down or get stuck, and how to help people who injure their eyes by looking at the sun.
Clearing the way for emergency vehicles
Ensuring emergency vehicles can get around town and access hospitals is the top priority, Joyce said. Arrangements have been made to shut down a section of King Street and reserve lanes of Sir John A. Macdonald Boulevard for ambulances.
Kingston Fire & Rescue has also issued a burn ban from Friday to Tuesday morning, with the goal of keeping emergency resources free to respond when they’re most needed.
The city has warned residents to gas up their vehicles in advance, and to be prepared for disruption to cell service because of increased demand.
Kingston Transit is providing free rides on Monday, though service will pause on all routes between 3 and 3:30 p.m. After the eclipse, buses will run on modified routes due to “expected significant traffic congestion.”
Reaching for a local reference point regarding crowd estimates, officials tend to land on the final concert by The Tragically Hip in 2016, which drew around 30,000 fans and resulted in some traffic congestion as people poured out of Kingston’s downtown core.
The lowest crowd estimate for Monday’s eclipse will double that number of visitors.
‘We’re not being overtaken by bandits’
Officials are also looking at the 2017 eclipse over the U.S. for some sense of what to expect.
Joyce said communities in the path of that celestial event saw their local populations balloon by between 50 and 400 per cent, similar to the range Kingston is predicting.
Kingston Police Insp. Greg Sands acknowledged it’s a “very wide range,” but said all the unknowns have made preparations “tricky.”
“It is difficult to … predict what’s going to happen,” said Sands, adding the one thing he’s sure of is an excited but friendly crowd.
“We’re not being overtaken by bandits or anything like that. It’s a family event,” he said.
Ontario Morning7:07Kingston prepares for Solar Eclipse
A once-in-a-generation event, the Solar Eclipse, is coming up soon and the city of Kingston is a prime location to catch the entire moon move in front of the sun. Thousands of viewers are expected to descend on the Limestone city. We spoke to Brad Joyce, the Commissioner of Transportation, Emergency Services and Infrastructure for the City, about the plan to handle this rapidly growing influx.
The police service is bringing in more officers for the day and will spread them out strategically so they can respond to incidents, even if Kingston’s roads become parking lots.
Bridges have the potential to become pinch points, said Sands, so the city hopes to keep traffic across them moving.
Last weekend a wrench was thrown into the city’s careful preparations when the LaSalle Causeway, a link between downtown and Kingston’s eastern suburbs, was completely closed.
Public Services and Procurement Canada says the crossing will likely be closed for several weeks.
Four of the eclipse viewing sites suggested by Tourism Kingston are on the far side of the Cataraqui River, though there are other ways to get there including the new Waaban Crossing or Highway 401.
Don’t wear eclipse glasses while driving
Ontario’s Ministry of Transportation is also warning drivers to expect busy roads and longer than normal travel times as a “significant number of people” move in and out of communities directly in the path of the eclipse.
Provincial police are also preparing for “mass movements” of people. Acting Sgt. Brianna Roberge said OPP are providing officers working along the path of totality with sunglasses to protect their eyes as they patrol.
OPP have shared the following tips for anyone else on the road during the eclipse:
- Watch out for pedestrians.
- Ensure your vehicle’s headlights are on.
- Do not wear eclipse glasses while driving.
- Don’t try to take a photo or video of the eclipse while driving.
- Don’t stop on the road, or even the shoulder. Park in a safe area away from traffic to view the eclipse.
The weather may prove to be the most significant element on eclipse day.
Niagara Falls, Ont., which is also in the path of totality and is expecting up to one million visitors, has preemptively declared a state of emergency.
CBC Ottawa’s Matthew Kupfer travels south to the U.S., to chase the best spots to watch the solar eclipse on April 8.
If that region of Ontario is shrouded by clouds on Monday, Joyce said he expects some of those eclipse-viewers could flock northeast to Kingston instead, increasing the potential for gridlock.
“It’s the size of the event that really is unique,” he said, adding the city has responded to large events and emergencies before, but nothing on this scale.
“This is something far beyond that,” Joyce said.