CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. (CLARKSVILLENOW) Montgomery County Emergency Management officials are planning for up to 200,000 visitors for the eclipse which presents opportunities and challenges for your business.

“This is unprecedented in terms of the number of people using our roads, restaurants, and retail shops,” said Katie Gambill of 5 Star Media. “If you’re ready for it, this is a fantastic opportunity.”

The temporary increase in population could mean big business for stores, restaurants, and gas stations, but only if these businesses have planned in advance.

The Clarksville Area Chamber of Commerce advises the following:

Order goods and schedule staff. Consider early and overnight delivery of critical supplies and increase inventory of basics.

Determine your restroom policy. Many visitors will be camping in both authorized and unauthorized locations, so plan for customers who may only want to use your restrooms.

Gas up vehicles in advance. Encourage employees to fuel vehicles before visitors arrive to avoid long lines at gas stations the day of the event.

Prepare for cash transactions. Credit and debit card transactions may take longer than usual due to increased volume. Consider setting up extra registers to accommodate the additional cash transactions.

Prepare for cell service overloads. There is the potential for service disruptions due to increased network use. Visitors may have urgent requests to use your business telephone line if they are having trouble with cell service. Decide up front how to handle these requests and make sure employees know your policy.

Other issues to consider:

Extra trash and recycling receptacles.

Water refill stations.

Perhaps most important that day will be tuning in to local radio. WiFi or cell service may be overloaded and non-functional during the eclipse, which means the only reliable source will be your radio.

“We will provide traffic reports all day on all of our Clarksville area radio stations,” said Scott Chase of 5 Star Media.

These stations will provide traffic updates all day on August 21:
Q108, Beaver 100.3, Rewind 94.3, Z97.5, ESPN Clarksville 104.1 , Outlaw 100.7, Sunny 99.1.