The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)

Law enforcemen­t preparing for eclipse visitors

The population of Avon Lake is 25,206, according to the 2020 U.S. Census.

But, Avon Lake Parks and Recreation Director Erin Fach said the number of people in the city on Lake Erie could triple for the April 8 solar eclipse.

All those new visitors are sure to bring along extra traffic, and the city’s law enforcemen­t is doing what they can to mitigate that, Fach said.

Avon Lake has prepared for the population explosion during the eclipse for about 18 months, said Avon Lake Police Department Police Chief Vincent Molnar.

Keeping Avon Lake citizens themselves informed was a top priority, Molnar said.

“The first thing that we needed to do, was to make the residents of our expected communitie­s aware (of the eclipse),” he said. “I think we’ve gotten through maybe the initial phase, where people are upset that their normal daily routine is going to be interrupte­d.”

Now that the first phase of initial enthusiasm is over, Molnar said the city has shifted into a state of planning.

Many Avon Lake residents already have decided to call off work, either out of anticipati­on, or fear that they might get stuck in a traffic jam, he said.

The city will work with various other communitie­s around northeaste­rn Lorain County to spread traffic out, Molnar said.

“We’re going to have different events at different places throughout the city,” he said. “We’re going to try to spread the traffic as evenly as possible throughout.

“We have Lake Road (also U.S. Route 6) that will take things east and west into Sheffield Lake and Bay Village, but generally, we have to get vehicles southbound back to (Intestate) 90.”

Molnar explained that getting vehicles back onto the freeway using a variety of roads is going to be key to stopping traffic jams.

With past events, the Avon Lake Police Department has received a preview of what directing solar eclipse day traffic could be like.

“We generally get experience­d at doing these types of events multiple times a year,” Molnar said. “We’ve had events like the Beer Fest at Miller Road Park that gets a big crowd.

“But now, we’re going to have at least three of those going on in the city, all at the same time.”

The Police Department also is working to eliminate any other problems that could arise April 8.

Crews will set up metal detectors and other safety measures around the city at different events, he said.

“There’s always some concern,” Molnar said. “That’s kind of the world we live in these days.

“But in general, you plan for the worst, but you hope for the best.”

Despite the traffic and any other problems that may arise, Molnar said he is excited for Avon Lake to have a chance to shine on April 8.

“It’s going to be very manpower intensive, but we’ve also been planning for it for a year and a half,” the chief said. “You’ll get a friendly midwestern environmen­t that should be welcoming (visitors) and encouragin­g them to enjoy all that we have to offer.”