Going to a Pope event in the Edmonton area? Here's what you need to know
Ahead of Pope Francis' visit to Edmonton, Maskwacis and Lac Ste. Anne later this month, event organizers held a press conference on Thursday to share details about the logistics of the trip.
Here's what attendees, and residents of the Edmonton area, need to know ahead of the Papal Visit.
ROAD CLOSURES
Rolling road closures — meaning that a road is closed before and after the Pope's motorcade passes by — are expected in certain areas between July 24 and 27.
The QEII will have road closures and limited access when the Pope travels from the Edmonton International Airport to his destination in the city on Sunday, July 24.
A day later, when the Pope travels to Maskwacis, there will be restricted access to the QEII and Highways 611 and 2A near Ponoka, Maskwacis and Wetaskiwin.
On Tuesday, July 26, the Pope is scheduled to visit Lac Ste. Anne and there will be closures and limited access along Highways 16, 43 and 633.
The QEII will once again have closures and limited access when the Pope leaves Edmonton on Wednesday, July 27.
PARK-AND-RIDE
More than 120,000 people are expected to attend the Papal events: 80,000 at Commonwealth Stadium, 25,000 in Lac Ste. Anne, 15,000 in Maskwacis, and 775 at Sacred Heart Church.
People who register to attend Papal events are strongly encouraged to get there early.
The main way to reach the sites in Edmonton, Maskwacis and Lac Ste. Anne is through park-and-ride.
For the Papal Mass at Commonwealth Stadium on July 26, there will be a number of park-and-ride locations across the city.
They will open at 7 a.m. and people with a ticket to the mass can ride for free until 2:30 p.m.
"Organizers for the Papal Mass have indicated that the event will start promptly at 10 a.m. and are asking that everyone plan to arrive early. And for those who are seated on the floor to arrive by 8:30 a.m," said Nicole Poirier with the City of Edmonton.
Poirier added road closures and increased traffic could cause ETS delays for buses the morning of the mass, "and therefore we are asking everyone to plan extra time for your regular commutes."
The Maskwacis and Lac Ste. Anne events will also have park-and-ride services in the area.
To get to Maskwacis, there will be buses from Heritage Valley in Edmonton, the Reynolds Museum in Wetaskiwin, and the Stampede Grounds in Ponoka.
And for Lac Ste. Anne, people can park and take the bus from Langford Park, Villeneuve Airport and Mayerthorpe Airport.
OTHER NOTES
People who attend Commonwealth Stadium need to have a ticket. Resold tickets purchased online will not be valid, organizers said.
All the events will be broadcast live and organizers are working to have them in many languages.
Organizers stressed the need to plan ahead, arrive early, use park-and-ride, and register for the events.
For more information, visit the papalvisit.ca, alberta.ca and edmonton.ca.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Dogs, drones, and word of mouth: How police narrowed in on Luigi Mangione
After UnitedHealthcare's CEO was gunned down on a New York sidewalk, police searched for the masked gunman with dogs, drones and scuba divers.
'Governor Justin Trudeau': Trump appears to mock PM in social media post
Amid a looming tariff threat, U.S. president-elect Donald Trump appears to be mocking Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, referring to him as 'Governor Justin Trudeau' in a post on Truth Social early Tuesday.
'I never got the impression he would self-destruct:' Friends of suspect in fatal CEO shooting left in shock
Months before police identified Luigi Mangione as the man they suspect gunned down a top health insurance CEO and then seemingly vanished from Midtown Manhattan, another disappearing act worried his friends and family.
Google pulls McDonald's negative reviews over arrest in UnitedHealth murder
Google on Monday removed derogatory reviews about McDonald's MCD.N after the suspect in the killing of UnitedHealth executive Brian Thompson was arrested at its restaurant in Altoona, Pennsylvania, where police say a customer alerted a local employee about him.
BREAKING 'Godfather of AI' Geoffrey Hinton receives Nobel Prize in physics
Artificial intelligence pioneer Geoffrey Hinton and co-laureate John Hopfield have received the Nobel Prize for physics at a ceremony in Stockholm.
Taxpayer-funded Eras Tour tickets returned by federal minister
While tens of thousands of fans packed Vancouver's BC Place for the last shows of Taylor Swift's Eras Tour this weekend, a federal cabinet minister wasn't one of them.
'Serial fraud artist': Crown wants 8-year jail term for fake nurse who treated nearly 1K B.C. patients
B.C. Crown prosecutors are calling for an eight-year prison term for a woman who illegally treated nearly 1,000 patients across the province while impersonating a real nurse.
Union dropped wage demand to 19% over four years in Canada Post negotiations: CUPW
The Canadian Union of Postal Workers has reportedly dropped its wage demand to 19 per cent over four years, CUPW negotiator Jim Gallant told CTV News.
'I was just trying to help her': Ontario woman loses $14,000 to taxi scam
An Ontario woman thought she was helping another woman pay for their taxi ride, but instead she was defrauded of $14,000.