Authorities are expecting Boerne’s population to double on April 8, when the total solar eclipse occurs.
While the population may bring more traffic onto Boerne’s streets and into its businesses, officials expect the departure to be its biggest headache.
Chris Shadrock, Boerne director of communications, summarized discussion from a March 18 emergency management meeting held leading up to the event, now just over two weeks away.
“Plan now how you want to spend the day,” Shadrock said. “Within Kendall County, we have a front-row seat. If you like crowds and want to celebrate this moment with others, do so. But just be prepared for however you want to celebrate that day.”
Shadrock said in talking with other communities, the days prior to the eclipse will be crowded, but should remain manageable.
“The week and weekend leading up to it, it’s going to be busy, but for them it wasn’t overwhelming,” Shadrock said. “You’ll see a steady stream of people leading up to it, lots of rush-hour traffic, but it should remain manageable.”
Shadrock said a bigger problem may be people coming on Monday from San Antonio, which largely is not in the eclipse path.
Jeffrey Fincke, county emergency manager, said residents should brace themselves for what could be colossal traffic jams once the eclipse is over.
“When it’s all over between 1 and 3 in the afternoon, we’re going to have a mass exodus out of Kerrville, Fredericksburg,” Fincke said. “If you don’t believe it, you better go read what happened up there,” referring to 8-to-10-hour traffic jams in northwestern states following the April 2017 total solar eclipse.
With the eclipse on Monday, Fincke said arrival times will be spread out over a four-or-five-day period.
“We’ll have people coming in on Thursday, on Friday, a lot on Saturday and Sunday,” he said.
“But they all need to leave and get back home. They have to go to work; the kids have to get ready for school the next day. If we don’t plan for the worst, and it happens, then we’re in trouble.”
