ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. — With the Nights of Lights festival only 7 months away, the City of St. Augustine is taking action now in hopes of improving the significant traffic congestion and parking issues seen this past year.
Some of the changes the city is proposing are to restrict public parking in downtown neighborhoods during the event, redirect traffic, and increase their satellite parking and shuttling.
Previous coverage:
- St. Augustine leaders vote to shorten Nights of Lights celebration
- St. Augustine votes to restrict mobile vendor locations during Nights of Lights, 4th of July
“We’ve asked DOT to dedicate one of the lanes on San Marco Avenue that connects the county to the city as a dedicated transit lane, so the shuttle can get through traffic congestion,” said St. Augustine City Manager David Birchim.
Another change the city is considering is banning parallel parking on Cathedral Place during the festival. Scott York owns four businesses in Downtown St. Augustine. He says, although some of the proposed changes might impact his businesses during the festival, he’s pleased with the action the city is taking.
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“The cathedral place won’t impact me, but some of the access and egress from the neighborhoods will, but I’m willing to give it a shot,” said York. I’m not necessarily thrilled about it, but I’m willing to give anything a shot to make this a better event.”
The city has one more stakeholder meeting on June 10th. After that, the city will compile all the feedback they’ve gotten from the public and present their plan to the city commission during their second meeting in June.
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