Buffalo City Hall will close on day of solar eclipse

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) -- We're one week out from an event expected to draw massive crowds to Buffalo, and Western New York as a whole.

Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown, flanked by city officials and first responders Monday afternoon, shared that City Hall will be closed on the day of the total solar eclipse -- April 8. This is being done to minimize traffic congestion.

Brown also announced that next week, garbage and recycling pickup in the city will be delayed by a day. This applies to each day of the week. With that, bulk trash pickup in the Ellicott District will be delayed by a day, as well.

In the months leading up to this rare celestial event, local and state leaders have been urging caution about the flow of traffic Western New York is expected to see. It's estimated that the area will garner record numbers of visitors, with the possibility of nearly a million people coming out for the event.

On multiple occasions, leaders have encouraged people to run errands and pick up their necessities ahead of time, things like groceries, gas and prescriptions, since traffic will be so heavy. The flood of motorists is also anticipated to cause delays in the response times of emergency personnel.

"Public safety continues to be our top priority," Brown said.

For those traveling to see the eclipse, parking rules will be strictly enforced. Officials reminded people to not park on the grass in public areas and take advantage of opportunities to safely watch it at home or somewhere a walkable distance away.

"Buffalo has the best seats in the house to view the eclipse," Brown said.

The eclipse itself, which is happening in the afternoon just before 3:20, will briefly see the moon completely block out the sun, an event anticipated to last just under four minutes. As always, people were advised to wear proper safety glasses for it.

Ahead of time, the city is offering a text line for more information on eclipse preparedness. People can text "eclipse" to 38276 to take advantage of this. It's worth noting that cell phone service itself could be greatly impacted during the event.