debut: 2/16/17
35,104 runs
Niagara falls declares state of emergency for eclipse
Ontario's Niagara Region has declared a state of emergency as it readies to welcome up to a million visitors for the solar eclipse in early April. Jim Diodati, the mayor of Niagara Falls, said the most visitors the city has seen in a single day is around 150,000, when American acrobat Nik Wallenda tight-rope walked across the waterfall in 2012. “This will be eight to nine times that number, especially depending on the weather,” Mr. Diodati said. “For traffic, the volume will be enormous,” he added. “It will be very difficult to get a fire truck or an ambulance or a police car. So we’re going to try to proactively position them in strategic locations that are accessible. We’ll have medical stations, porta-potties. We’re trying to think of everything.”
The city is also bringing in mobile cellphone towers to handle the increased demand for bandwidth. The regional government, which includes Niagara Falls, St. Catharines, Welland and a number of smaller cities, has asked the province’s helicopter ambulance service to be on alert. Some public facilities will be closed on the day and staff may be reassigned to deal with traffic, parking and other issues, Mr. Bradley said. The Go Transit rail system will be running additional trains to and from Toronto, to meet increased demand and reduce traffic congestion on the Queen Elizabeth Way highway, which runs south from the GTA.
While Niagara’s declaration of emergency has highlighted risks ahead of April 8, Mr. Diodati said the event is also a tremendous opportunity for the tourism region, which is still recovering from the pandemic.
“It’s getting us the exposure we could never afford to pay for. And we’re grateful for it. I mean, the world brought us COVID, and now the universe brings us a total solar eclipse.”
Ontario's Niagara Region has declared a state of emergency as it readies to welcome up to a million visitors for the solar eclipse in early April. Jim Diodati, the mayor of Niagara Falls, said the most visitors the city has seen in a single day is around 150,000, when American acrobat Nik Wallenda tight-rope walked across the waterfall in 2012. “This will be eight to nine times that number, especially depending on the weather,” Mr. Diodati said. “For traffic, the volume will be enormous,” he added. “It will be very difficult to get a fire truck or an ambulance or a police car. So we’re going to try to proactively position them in strategic locations that are accessible. We’ll have medical stations, porta-potties. We’re trying to think of everything.”
The city is also bringing in mobile cellphone towers to handle the increased demand for bandwidth. The regional government, which includes Niagara Falls, St. Catharines, Welland and a number of smaller cities, has asked the province’s helicopter ambulance service to be on alert. Some public facilities will be closed on the day and staff may be reassigned to deal with traffic, parking and other issues, Mr. Bradley said. The Go Transit rail system will be running additional trains to and from Toronto, to meet increased demand and reduce traffic congestion on the Queen Elizabeth Way highway, which runs south from the GTA.
While Niagara’s declaration of emergency has highlighted risks ahead of April 8, Mr. Diodati said the event is also a tremendous opportunity for the tourism region, which is still recovering from the pandemic.
“It’s getting us the exposure we could never afford to pay for. And we’re grateful for it. I mean, the world brought us COVID, and now the universe brings us a total solar eclipse.”
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