Editor's note: This article Dallas Morning News coverage of the 2024 total solar eclipse.Learn more about dallasnews.com/eclipse.
Dallas city officials on Tuesday urged residents not to travel too far from their neighborhoods to view next Monday's total solar eclipse to reduce the impact on road traffic.
But if you must travel, leave early for your destination, be prepared to stay late and avoid looking directly into the sun without safety glasses, officials said.
“Plan now what you're going to do on Monday,” Travis Houston, director of the Dallas Emergency Management Agency, said at a news conference Tuesday. “Now is the time to do it.”
Dallas City Council members, city department heads and local government officials held dozens of watch party events across the city as tourists flocked to North Texas for the first total solar eclipse since 1878. He urged residents to prepare for major traffic jams next week.
Officials expect highways and other roadways to be congested, especially in the late afternoon after the eclipse as people leave viewing sites en masse.
Officials said they expect tourists to begin arriving in Dallas starting Thursday or Friday.
About 90% of the city's 35,000 hotel rooms are expected to be booked by Monday, said Jennifer Walker, senior vice president and chief marketing officer for VisitDallas.
up to 450,000 visitors
Walker said early estimates suggest Dallas' visitor numbers could increase by up to 35%, or up to more than 450,000 people, during the event. A more accurate estimate may be available after Monday.
“The bottom line is we expect a lot of people to be in Dallas that day,” Houston said.
Police Chief Eddie Garcia said drivers should not pull over or pull over on the road to view the eclipse. He urged people to keep roads as clear as possible so emergency responders can get to service calls and hospitals.
Garcia said to ensure there are enough officers on duty, the police department has canceled all requests for leave that are considered discretionary.
“You will see a visible presence of the Dallas Police Department on our roads and throughout our city,” Garcia said.
weather forecast
Dallas is one of the largest cities in North America along the path of the total solar eclipse, covering a stretch of land to the north that includes cities such as Indianapolis, Buffalo, New York, and Montreal.
The National Weather Service in Fort Worth said in its initial forecast that those watching the eclipse in North Texas are likely to see cloudy weather. Houston said Tuesday that the city expects to have more accurate information about the weather forecast as the weekend approaches.
The moon is expected to begin eclipsing the Sun in Dallas around 12:23 p.m. Monday, with totality beginning around 1:40 p.m. Complete occlusion of the Sun is estimated to end in about 4 minutes, and the Moon will be completely away from the Sun by the next hour.Around 3:02 p.m.
The next total solar eclipse will not occur in North Texas until 2317.
Declaration of emergency
Several Texas counties declared states of emergency ahead of the eclipse in response to the potential strain on law enforcement and emergency management resources.
The Federal Aviation Administration warned of travel delays at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport and other airports due to the rare event. Almost all rental car agencies in the Dallas area are either sold out of vehicles or have higher than average rates.
City officials said up to 8,000 people are expected to attend the three-day festival at Samuel Farm, a more than 600-acre city-owned regional park in the Mesquite area.
Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson is being touted as a special guest for Monday's total solar eclipse event at Fair Park's Cotton Bowl Stadium.
Goat yoga is being offered as part of a pre-eclipse event Sunday at Harwood Park in downtown Dallas. Other visitors are also expected at Singing Hills Recreation Center, Kiesto Park, White Rock Lake, Dallas Arboretum, Bachman Lake, and other areas of the city.
Garbage and recycling collection for residents will be suspended next Monday due to expected traffic problems, city health officials said. It reopens Tuesday, and residents can expect pickups to be delayed by at least one day compared to normal days.
