Do you have a ticket to President Obama’s speech today in the University at Buffalo’s Alumni Arena? Wondering how the president’s arrival will disrupt the typical weekday commute? Here’s what you need to know.
10:30 a.m.: Air Force One touches down at Buffalo Niagara International Airport. The president’s arrival will be closed to the public.
11:15 a.m.: Obama begins remarks.
Those with tickets to the speech should enter the campus at Flint Road off Audubon Parkway.
Disabled individuals and red/green ticket holders may use the Coventry entrance.
Webster Road will be closed at St. Rita’s Lane and the Coventry entrance from 4 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Anyone needing to access the Child Care Center and South Lake Village can do so via Frontier Road or the Webster entrance.
The following lots will be closed until 2 p.m.: Stadium, Arena, Lake LaSalle, Slee A & B and Baird A & B.
Attendees are encouraged to carpool if possible.
Signs directing motorists to the event will be posted throughout campus, and information aides in lime green vests will be on hand to direct attendees.
In addition, a circulator shuttle with stops at Cooke/Hochstetter, Computing Center, Lower Capen and the Student Union will transport attendees to within a block of the arena.
For up-to-the-minute parking and transportation information today, tune into 1620 AM within a four-mile radius of the North Campus. Contact ub-parking@buffalo.edu or 645-3943 for more information.
Rita Yelda, an organizer for Food and Water Watch, said the rally will include a picket along with chants directed at the president’s position. Similar protests are planned in Syracuse and Binghamton, she confirmed.
Joining those from Yelda’s Food and Water Watch will be others from New Yorkers Against Fracking, MoveOn, Sierra Club’s Niagara Group, the Western New York Peace Center and Western New York Drilling Defense.
“I hope he’s able to see us, I hope he comes out and talks to us,” Yelda said. “I hope we’re able to open up his eyes to this.”
He speaks Friday in Binghamton and Scranton, Pa.
As the president’s motorcade makes its way across the state today and Friday, state Thruway officials say motorists may encounter temporary road closures and slow or stopped traffic.
Road closures may occur at some interchanges, service plazas and rest areas, preventing motorists from entering or re-entering the roadway for a time.
Thruway officials said Wednesday that motorists should proceed with caution at all times.
email: hglick@buffnews.com
The hours
9 a.m.: Doors to Alumni Area open. Attendees are encouraged to arrive earlier.10:30 a.m.: Air Force One touches down at Buffalo Niagara International Airport. The president’s arrival will be closed to the public.
11:15 a.m.: Obama begins remarks.
The roads
Certain roads and parking lots throughout UB’s North Campus will be closed around the time of the president’s speech.Those with tickets to the speech should enter the campus at Flint Road off Audubon Parkway.
Disabled individuals and red/green ticket holders may use the Coventry entrance.
Webster Road will be closed at St. Rita’s Lane and the Coventry entrance from 4 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Anyone needing to access the Child Care Center and South Lake Village can do so via Frontier Road or the Webster entrance.
The parking
Event parking is available in Jacobs lot off Augspurger Road, southwest of the arena. Handicap parking is available in the upper Slee and Baird lots. Red/green ticket holders may park in the lower Slee/Baird lots.The following lots will be closed until 2 p.m.: Stadium, Arena, Lake LaSalle, Slee A & B and Baird A & B.
Attendees are encouraged to carpool if possible.
Signs directing motorists to the event will be posted throughout campus, and information aides in lime green vests will be on hand to direct attendees.
In addition, a circulator shuttle with stops at Cooke/Hochstetter, Computing Center, Lower Capen and the Student Union will transport attendees to within a block of the arena.
For up-to-the-minute parking and transportation information today, tune into 1620 AM within a four-mile radius of the North Campus. Contact ub-parking@buffalo.edu or 645-3943 for more information.
Other campus traffic
Anyone with plans to be on campus today for reasons other than the president’s appearance is encouraged to park on the north side of the main academic spine to avoid the congestion. Today happens to be the first day that incoming freshmen can begin moving into dorms ahead of the new academic year. Freshman dorms are located well north of Alumni Arena. Dorm check-in starts at 9 a.m. and continues throughout the day.“Fracking” protest
Up to 100 opponents of hydrofracking are expected to protest along Coventry Road against the president’s public statements hailing natural gas as a “transitional fuel.”Rita Yelda, an organizer for Food and Water Watch, said the rally will include a picket along with chants directed at the president’s position. Similar protests are planned in Syracuse and Binghamton, she confirmed.
Joining those from Yelda’s Food and Water Watch will be others from New Yorkers Against Fracking, MoveOn, Sierra Club’s Niagara Group, the Western New York Peace Center and Western New York Drilling Defense.
“I hope he’s able to see us, I hope he comes out and talks to us,” Yelda said. “I hope we’re able to open up his eyes to this.”
The Thruway
After concluding his speech, the president is scheduled to leave Buffalo and travel to Syracuse by bus for the second of four planned stops on his two-day tour of upstate New York and northern Pennsylvania.He speaks Friday in Binghamton and Scranton, Pa.
As the president’s motorcade makes its way across the state today and Friday, state Thruway officials say motorists may encounter temporary road closures and slow or stopped traffic.
Road closures may occur at some interchanges, service plazas and rest areas, preventing motorists from entering or re-entering the roadway for a time.
Thruway officials said Wednesday that motorists should proceed with caution at all times.
email: hglick@buffnews.com