NEW YORK (WCBS 880) – As the opening of the 9/11 Memorial approaches, city officials and community members are anticipating what effect the tourist crowd will have on Lower Manhattan.

LISTEN: WCBS 880′s Rich Lamb reports

That’s why some politicians are coming up with plans to keep tour buses at bay without losing out on the tourists.

Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver said six to eight buses per hour are expected to bring 15 to 20 percent of the memorial’s 5 million expected visitors per year. But with tour buses bringing in the tourists, Silver thinks that will limit the amount of time and money they spend in Lower Manhattan.

“Permits, meters, 3-hour maximum turn-around is what they’re talking about. The community’s perspective is we want the tourist to stay as long as possible. We want them in the restaurants. We want them in the shops,” Silver said.

Silver said we don’t want them to come in then go right back to where they came from and that’s what the buses will tend to do.

“The more visitors we have coming in by means other than tour buses, the more visitors we’ll have that stay in Lower Manhattan longer,” Silver said. “So this is a great example of doing well by doing good. You keep tour buses out of Lower Manhattan, and you bring tourists in.”