The annual Nights of Lights festival in St. Augustine—a major draw for tourists during the winter months—is now at the center of a growing debate over economic impact and quality of life.
According to the chairman of the St. Johns County Tourism and Development Council, shortening the event will take a significant toll on the local economy.
Appearing on 904Now last week, TDC chief Irving Kass, who also owns the St. George Inn, said the City Commission’s decision to trim the length of the festival could cost the region up to $135 million in lost revenue.
“The decision the City Commission made to shorten Nights of Lights cost our community $135 million,” Kass said. “And it’s not really solving the problem.”
In each of the past two years, the St. Augustine City Commission has voted to shorten the festival by one week, in response to growing complaints from residents about overcrowding, traffic congestion, and diminished quality of life.
;But Kass argues that the cuts address only surface-level symptoms, not the root problems.
“It goes back to people meaning well but not understanding a lot of what’s being discussed and thrown out,” he said. “There are symptoms, and not core issues.”
Supporters of the festival point out that the illuminated downtown draws thousands of visitors during an otherwise slow season, keeping restaurants, hotels, and small businesses afloat.
Kass said logistical headaches like traffic and crowd control won’t go away by shortening the event.
Instead, he has submitted an action plan to local officials aimed at easing congestion while preserving the economic boost the festival provides.
Among his proposals: creating dedicated bus lanes to and from remote parking lots that would shuttle visitors into the central area—an approach modeled after the Players Championship golf tournament in Ponte Vedra Beach. One of the proposed routes could run directly along San Marco Avenue.
He also suggested developing a Nights of Lights mobile app, offering real-time updates on parking, wait times, and restaurant availability to help improve the visitor experience and reduce bottlenecks.
Tourism and Convention Bureau President Susan Phillips voiced support for Kass’s plan during same discussion.
“We’ve got infrastructure issues. We have capacity issues,” Phillips said. “How do we make this better for the community? And when I say community, that means all of the residents, all of the businesses. And it’s a better visitor experience.”
9 Responses
“And it’s not really solving the problem.” Seriously? Reducing days of NOL will drastically improve the city. THINK LONG TERM. What are city leaders going to do when people get fed up and start selling, and then can’t sell because who wants to live with all this overcrowding, traffic congestion, and diminished quality of life? Then housing prices will start to drop so they can sell (at a loss) and prices will go lower and lower. Now SA will have low-cost housing, so either more rental units for VRBO or just cheaper housing. Then the neighborhood will deteriorate and NO ONE will want to get near Saint Augustine. Also – Dedicated bus lanes? Where are you going to find space on San Marco for an extra lane? Remove current parking? Close businesses? SA is busy year round. I know, I drive through it and there is never a break or hardly a place to park. When NOL comes to town, it’s a nightmare and I lose what access I have. If anything, shorten NOL to ONE month – December. We need some planners with a vision to run this city. One last thing – WE ARE NOT DISNEY.
That may be the worse idea I’ve ever heard. Your home value claims are totally off
I am thankful that the timeframe for Nights of Lights has been shortened. Gives me a few more days to be able to drive over the Vilano Bridge without gridlock. It’s of course not a permanent solution but shows an acknowledgement by City that it is a problem.
Sure would be helpful if City could police and ticket drivers at the peanut who block that intersection in all directions.
Shortening NOL is not solving the parking or traffic problem.
I think this guy is more worried about his own pocket book over the needs of the community.
Does shortening NOL effectively mean that the city will turn off the lights in the dozen or so oak trees in the plaza de constitucion? Can’t private businesses choose to keep their lights on indefinitely? Do we really think shortening the event will make any difference without businesses also turning off their lights? Maybe shortening is part of the solution but people will still come regardless and there needs to be a more comprehensive solution to the number of cars on the road.
Nights of Lights is a huge tourist draw, but, it sucks for residents.
City Council: “What if we make it suck more but for a shorter period of time?”
At least this guy is trying to make it NOT suck for residents by fixing the problems that make it suck.
I agree that shortening the dates of NOL doesn’t solve the problem. There needs to be a dedicated bus lane and possible police directing traffic. Take away the on street parking on San Marco and make it a bus lane that drops you off at the parking garage. Or a lane of US1 that does the same with a traffic officer directing traffic. This xan be managed. And by the way, businesses should be paying for any extra costs, not city residents, as this benefits the businesses, not the residents.
I could not even walk with my family downtown. The overcrowding was over the top. Parking was non existent. This event completely takes over the area and makes it inconvenient to be a resident and that is something that is unacceptable.
What about the interest of public safety? If there is any kind of a major incident, it would be next to impossible to protect the public or get emergency vehicles into the area. We have got to think about the needs of residents, infrastructure and safety.