State of emergency ‘had downward impact’ on eclipse attendance in Niagara Falls: mayor

globalnews.ca:

regional government is facing a legal challenge over use of the declaration following a filing from the Canadian Constitution Foundation (CCF) seeking a judicial review.“The CCF is deeply concerned about the proliferation of declarations of emergency in situations where no genuine emergencies exist,” the group said in a statement issued April 5.Niagara Region CAO Ron Tripp says use of the edict freed up much-needed “resources on the ground” and allowed for the streamlining and coordination of first responders.“Certainly it was much more intense as we approached the event, requesting enhanced support,” Tripp explained.”The declaration formalized the importance, the urgency and the degree of preparedness that was required.”He used Bell and Rogers deployment of additional resources, like mobile towers to supplement phone quality, as an example of what the declaration brings to keep 911 emergency services robust with so many in such finite spaces across the city.“So I don’t believe we would have seen that degree of deployment from the telecom entities without the state of emergency,” Tripp suggested.Both telecoms say they handled around six times the amount of traffic they normally do on a Monday in the Falls.Demand for hotel rooms in the city began to peak in mid-March as dwindling availability equated to prices as high as $1,000 a night for higher-end rooms.But Diodati said partners reported cancellations in early April right after the declaration.Venues like the Hilton Niagara Falls, Embassy Suites and Holiday Inn by the Falls had room packages available heading into the weekend before the event.“It was the Thursday before the Easter long weekend, so there was no chance to respond,” he said.

“It just went out and it