Traffic was slow moving as motorists made their way back home after the eclipse on Monday. But Wood County saw no big problems as people converged on the area in order to get a glimpse of the total eclipse.
“Overall, it went pretty well,” said Wood County Emergency Management Agency Director Jeff Klein, who credited local citizens.
“A lot of people stayed home” and watched the eclipse from their backyards, he said. “I really think the people in Wood County were prepared.”
The traffic leaving the eclipse watch party at the BGSU football stadium was backed up for a while on East Wooster Street, but local law enforcement is accustomed to handling crowds.
“It’s second nature for them to move traffic,” Klein said.
Traffic on Interstate 75 and U.S. 23 was also crawling along immediately following the eclipse, at one point taking an hour to travel from Maumee to Toledo, Klein said. Driving from Bowling Green to Perrysburg was clocked at 49 minutes during the busiest times, but was back down to 22 minutes around 5:40 p.m.
“It seems to be thinning out a bit,” Klein said.
Bowling Green Communications Director Amanda Gamby said first responders in the city were well prepared.
“We really didn’t have any problems,” she said, with police officers planning to monitor continuing revelers celebrating the eclipse overnight.
The biggest crowds in Bowling Green were gathered at BGSU, Carter Park, City Park and the Meijer parking lot, according to BG Police Division Lt. Adam Skaff. The traffic was manageable, he said.
BG Fire Division was ready for additional emergency calls.
“We had crews at the ready, but they weren’t needed,” Fire Lt. Brandon Westerman said. “It went very smooth.”
Wood County Hospital’s Cristy Walton said the emergency department did not experience a spike in patients from the influx of visitors for the eclipse.
And Ohio State Patrol’s Public Information Officer Ryan Purpura said that he did not see any motorists pulled off the side of the road during the eclipse – a persistent message from the state patrol.
“I was pretty impressed,” Purpura said.
A few minor crashes occurred on highways in the heavy traffic, but they were all cleaned up pretty quickly, he said.
Wood County Sheriff Mark Wasylyshyn said his department had no problems dealing with traffic or any other eclipse related issues on Monday.
“No need for the state EMA to scare everyone,” Wasylyshyn said Monday evening. “I really think some people were scared to go to events. I had people calling me prior to the event truly worried. I was able to calm them down. I wonder how many more were out there that didn’t call.”
