ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. – Nights of Lights, a beloved holiday event in St. Augustine, has grown so popular that some residents feel it has become overwhelming.
Martha Mickler, a resident of Spanish Street, voiced her concerns during Monday’s commission meeting about the crowds and traffic generated by Nights of Lights. She acknowledged some positives, noting that the city’s decision to close two sections of Spanish Street has significantly improved safety.
“Thank you again for being proactive and making the decision to provide a safer environment for everyone,” Mickler said.
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St. Augustine Mayor Nancy Sikes-Kline discussed the challenges posed by Nights of Lights with News4JAX, emphasizing the need for a balance between tourism and livability.
“We’ve got to be able to live in this because this is not Disney World. We are a real living, breathing city, and we can’t shut down at night. You know, people have to be able to live here,” Sikes-Kline said.
Mickler took it upon herself to count the number of people downtown one afternoon, tallying 200 individuals walking down her street in just 15 minutes.
“I wish we had counted each day from Thanksgiving through New Year’s weekend,” Mickler said.
Vice Mayor Barbara Blonder, who typically avoids the downtown area during the event, decided to experience it firsthand.
“There was somebody who sideswiped another car and kept going,” Blonder said. “The traffic was so bad. People were so frustrated that it just was chaos and then the pedestrians crossing without the lights.”
Commissioner Jim Springfield reported receiving numerous complaints about sidewalk congestion during the event.
“I would love to eliminate all vendors during Nights of Lights,” Springfield said. “I think that would be something that would help.”
Blonder observed that walking was faster than driving, even with the crowds.
“My husband and I were able to walk probably five times as fast as any car out there, at a slow pace we were walking because these sidewalks were so crowded,” Blonder said.
Springfield believes the event has strayed from its original purpose.
“There was a big push from the city not to do it because they were afraid that there would be tacky lighting, that the intent was to represent the architecture of the city with single rows of white lights,” Springfield said. “We now have tacky lights all over the city.”
Mickler noted that her neighbors in the Flagler Model Land area experienced gridlock during the holiday season.
“They’ve had trouble getting in and out of their driveways because everyone wants to come downtown and they use those different streets to get down there,” Mickler said.
Springfield agreed with Mickler that the city needs to address the traffic issues.
“We got to come up with something to help the residents in town who can’t get to their houses on particular nights of Nights of Lights,” Springfield said.
How are businesses feeling?
Nights of Lights brings in a lot of business for downtown shops like Bonita Boutique.
Galene Shorter, a sales associate for the store, said the shop on Cathedral Street opened about three months ago.
“Business was wonderful. Business is still wonderful, but the Night of Lights are just crazy as bumper-to- bumper people, the traffic is outrageous,” Shorter said.
Maria Moskalli, a hostess at Athena Greek Cuisine, witnessed the traffic issues as the restaurant experienced a lot of business during the holiday season.
“People struggling to park, and then customers would come in, they’d be like, ‘Oh my God, parking is so hard to find, which, we completely understand,” Moskalli said, adding that traffic is already hard to find during the off seasons.
Employees also had to make sure to leave earlier than normal for work during the height of Nights of Lights to make sure they could find parking and get to work on time.
Mayor Sikes-Kline shared that the Tourist and Cultural Development Department in St. Johns County requested $400,000 to market the event to the “drive market,” targeting local visitors.
In the future, she hopes to focus on attracting visitors who stay longer than a day to reduce traffic.
“When people come and visit and spend the night, they will park their cars once, and they will leave them behind, and they will take the trolleys and the transportation, and they’ll walk on foot,” Sikes-Kline explained.
The discussion on solutions for the traffic issues during Nights of Lights is just beginning. The city manager is expected to present a report with recommendations at the Feb. 10 commission meeting.