St. Augustinians — and an influential local official — commended the city’s early handling of the Nights of Lights kickoff, calling the opening segment a bustling but manageable success.
Speaking at this week’s St. Johns County Board of County Commissioners meeting, Commissioner Ann Taylor relayed a glowing assessment of the inaugural stanza — citing improved traffic, orderly intersections and minimal litter.
“Just an absolutely amazing difference from last year,” she said. “Certainly going to keep an eye on things and be able to adjust where we can. But hats off to everyone who is making Nights of Lights a big success.”
Businesses and residents reported that the annual festivities, which began last Saturday, are going according to plan, with registers ringing and tolerable traffic thus far.
Irving Kass, owner of the St. George Inn and the bar Bin 39 near the Old City Gates, says the lighter-than-usual traffic may be due to the city’s decision to start the event a week earlier than in years past.
“It seemed to go really well,” he told The Citizen. “It’s pretty much what we expected. I’m not sure how much of the market knew we started a week earlier. Light up night was busy. It wasn’t crazy, but it was busy.”
Kass said he left downtown St. Augustine around 6 p.m. Saturday and noted that northbound traffic on U.S. 1 was actually less hectic than usual. “I was surprised; it was not even as busy as a normal Saturday.”
City officials, including City Manager David Birchim, Mayor Nancy Sikes-Kline and St. Johns tourism chief Susan Phillips, were all optimistic ahead of this year’s rendition after a raft of logistical adjustments.
Izzabella Nardone, a St. George Street sales rep at Old Town Trolley Tours, reported a similarly affirmative experience at this year’s opening weekend.
Though she wasn’t working at the time, she still found herself in downtown St. Augustine for the annual tree-lighting ceremony.
“It drew a lot of crowds. It gave the strip a lot of positive business,” she said.
Down the street at Pierre’s Pub, bartender and musician Christian Powers shared Nardone’s enthusiasm for the season, but amplified the event’s prime complaint: a lack of parking.
“It’s great, because it’s super busy,” he said. “Obviously it comes with the traffic and all of that, but it’s good for the economy. We like it. It’s a good time of year for sure.”
Kenny Chen owns So Good Jewelry inside the Heritage Walk indoor mall off St. George Street. Having moved to St. Augustine from New York City in 2010, he’s said he’s seen the city change vastly since then.
He comes to his shop every day to work and understands why the city, especially during the holiday season, draws so much attention.
For Chen, locating space for his vehicle remains his chief challenge during Nights of Lights.
“If you want to find a parking space, it’s a difficulty,” he said. “It’s tough.”
Katie McQuarry works at another one of Heritage Walk’s indoor shops, The Salty Spur and Bucks Boutique, and is the soon-to-be owner. She also attended the lighting ceremony after she closed up shop.
“It’s everybody standing shoulder to shoulder, but it was cold that night, so I can’t complain,” she said.
McQuarry also expressed frustration with the downtown parking situation. She regularly pays $10 every day to park, but during Nights of Lights, rates are higher.
“I think the parking garage is like $40 this year if you want to park there. It’s insane,” she said.
To encourage offsite parking and shuttle use, officials recently raised the price to park in the Historic Downtown Parking Garage to $40 on days the shuttles run after 1 p.m.
On days without shuttle transportation, or before 1 p.m., parking is $20 in the garage.
But even with the city’s traffic congestion and parking hunts, McQuarry loves her hometown and everything it offers.
“I’ve lived here my whole life. I will never leave. It’s the best city in the world. I love it here,” she said.
To stroll through the streets of the nation’s oldest city and see the Nights of Lights displays, visit historic downtown St. Augustine through Jan. 11.
