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
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
OPP responds to apparent video of officer supporting anti-Trudeau government protestors
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says it's investigating an interaction between a uniformed officer and anti-Trudeau government protestors after a video circulated on social media.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Loud boom in Hamilton caused by propane tank, police say
A loud explosion was heard across Hamilton on Friday after a propane tank was accidentally destroyed and detonated at a local scrap metal yard, police say.