With congestion expected across New York, state officials detail preparations for eclipse weekend

Mar. 25—State officials are expecting that hundreds of thousands, maybe millions of people will flock to the parts of upstate New York that will see the full solar eclipse on April 8, and are warning visitors and residents to expect severe traffic, long lines for gas and food and possible interruptions to cell service.

In a press briefing at the University at Albany campus on Monday, some of the leading commissioners in charge of New York's executive agencies gathered to explain the months of preparation the state has undertaken for this once-in-a-lifetime total eclipse.

Gov. Kathleen C. Hochul was unable to attend the briefing in person, citing ongoing state budget deliberations in the Capitol about 4 miles away.

"We want to really prepare for this," Hochul said in a livestreamed video message. "Take advantage of this exciting moment, this is New York's chance to be in the sun and the limelight, and to make sure that we all do this in a smart, healthy way that people remember for generations to come."

Kathryn Garcia, Hochul's director of state operations, who serves as the contact point between the nearly 100 state agencies and the governor's office, said state officials have been preparing for the eclipse in earnest for about 18 months, with an interagency task force focused on promoting tourism and public safety in equal measures.

"It included over 20 agencies, and we are prepared for problems in areas around transportation, cell service, or goodness gracious what's going to happen if there aren't enough bathrooms on the thruway," she said.

The eclipse's path of totality, where 100% of the sun is obscured by the moon, stretches in a curving line from the middle of the south Pacific Ocean, across Mexico, Texas and the eastern U.S. before hitting upstate New York, which comes in second after Texas for the longest stretch of state land covered by the eclipse's path of totality.

Across New York, the eclipse will hit essentially all of western New York, from the border with Erie, Pennsylvania, to Buffalo, Rochester and Syracuse. All of the north country, as far south as Rome, Oneida County, is covered by the path of totality, with the center line directly over Thompson Park in Watertown. All of Jefferson, Lewis, St. Lawrence, Franklin, Essex and Clinton counties will be in the path of totality, as well as the northern reaches of the Adirondack Park, as far south as North Creek, Warren County.

State parks in the path of totality have opened their campgrounds early for the eclipse. Officials said that camping areas at the state parks are 100% booked for the night of April 7, and 93% booked for the night of April 8.

"If you already live there, you're one of the lucky ones," Garcia said. "However, if you are planning on traveling to one of these locations, we cannot stress enough, leave lots of time."

Commissioner of Homeland Security and Emergency Services Jackie Bray echoed that sentiment.

"Do not assume that you're going to leave two hours before the eclipse and get home two hours after the eclipse," Bray said.

Officials are suggesting that eclipse-watchers plan to "come early, leave late," as many of the roadways and viewing areas in upstate New York will reach or exceed their maximum capacity with the additional thousands and thousands of people.

"We anticipate there will be hundreds of thousands of visitors, and there will be many large events planned," Garcia said. "Not only are we expecting all of these visitors, but the timing of the eclipse, in the late afternoon, overlaps with our everyday rush hour. This is a recipe for severe congestion."

Officials said the extra load on the region's cell network could cause network slowdowns, but said that 911 will still work even when the wider cell network is strained with other connections. Spokespeople for the "big three" wireless carriers: AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile, told the Times last week that recent improvements to the region's cell networks, including the installation of 5G, have improved capacity enough that cell networks in most of the north country should have no problems during the eclipse. They are not anticipating a need to bring mobile cell towers for additional capacity.

Garcia warned that residents in the path of totality should do everything they can to prepare for the crush of visitors: reschedule appointments to avoid driving on April 8, look to work from home if possible, buy gas and food before the weekend starts.

While many school districts have opted to cancel class for the day, Garcia said that the districts choosing to remain open have provided detailed transportation plans for how they intent to bus students through the anticipated traffic.

Garcia cited the 2017 eclipse, which did not hit New York with a path of totality, as an example the state has looked at to learn from.

"In 2017, in other parts of the U.S., there was very severe traffic where people were in their cars for up to 10 hours," she said. "We do not want that to happen in New York, which is why we have been planning."

Garcia urged visitors to plan accordingly — anyone driving to see the eclipse should top off their gas tank, pack snacks and water in the vehicle, as well as blankets, and expect to spend hours in traffic at busy viewing spots. She urged visitors to consider spending an extra day in town, both to experience upstate New York and to avoid some of the worst traffic anticipated for the event.

Bray said the state is opening up three emergency operations centers for the event. One will be open in Albany to coordinate statewide, as well as a regional site in Buffalo and another in Lake Placid.

"Those will be staffed for the entirety of the event, until we have cleared all of the roads and make sure that everyone is hope safely," Bray said.

Most of the counties in the path of totality are expected to also open their own emergency operations centers, and Bray said the state will provide extra staffing where needed for those centers.

She said more staff are being scheduled for the days around the eclipse at state police, the Department of Transportation, the Thruway Authority, and are scheduling more equipment on-hand for the event, including so-called HELP trucks that can provide limited quantities of fuel and emergency equipment to help stranded vehicles.

Bray advised all visitors to use the state's 511 traffic information system, where dialing "511" on connects the caller with live traffic information for most routes in the state. Bray said calling that number to get real-time traffic information can give drivers the information they need to prepare for a long drive, or get alternative routes.

"We want to be using as many paths in and out (of upstate) as we possibly can," Bray said.

She warned that drivers should not park along the highways to view the eclipse, as that can make traffic far worse and block emergency vehicles trying to use the shoulder.

"Park only in designated areas, we have to be able to get emergency vehicles through," Bray said. "Especially in the north country, those two lane roads, we need to make sure that you're not parked on the shoulder, and that if you have a problem you get as far off of the road as humanly possible."

She warned visitors viewing the eclipse in the Adirondack State Park to stay close to marked viewing areas and out of the undeveloped back country of the park.

"It's not that we don't want you to appreciate the beauty of the Adirondacks, but we do expect that our Department of Environmental Conservation, our state police teams will be out in force potentially having to do additional search and rescue, and we want to limit that as much as possible," Bray said.

People hoping to view the eclipse directly will need to get their hands on a pair of eclipse-viewing glasses, which are specially designed to block almost all visible light from the eye. Looking at the sun, even during an eclipse, can damage the eye and cause permanent blindness.

Garcia said the state will be offering a limited quantity of glasses at regional welcome centers and state-operated, manned rest stops. She urged those who use other viewing glasses not provided by the state to ensure they are authentic and will actually protect the eye.

She suggested putting the glasses on and attempting to look at something very close up — a good pair of eclipse glasses will make it impossible to see anything in normal lighting conditions, while a bad pair will let enough light in to see things close up.