We have scheduled a significant percentage of our department to be on-duty Monday for the eclipse viewing activities. Officers will be placed throughout the city to mitigate the need to travel through possible traffic congestion to arrive at a call for service. Officers will remain on-duty as long as circumstances require it.
The Cookeville Police Department is encouraging everyone in and traveling to Cookeville for the eclipse viewing to have their viewing site already selected before traveling Monday. There are several sites available to the public in our area: Cummins Falls State Park at 390 Cummins Falls Lane, Burges Falls State Park at 4000 Burgess Falls Drive and Windows Cliff State Park at 8400 Old Cane Creek Road.
We have two other suggestions: Arrive early to your destination and do not pull off and stop along any roadway to view the eclipse. We will be issuing updates frequently on Monday on Facebook and Twitter.
Our next request is urgent: We need all motorists to devote their full attention to the task of driving and have patience while doing so. We are expecting a significant number of visitors to our community that will likely cause our streets to be congested. If need be, there will be CPD officers at major intersections to direct traffic.