City proposes wide-ranging traffic, parking and enforcement changes for Knights of Lights to reduce downtown congestion

City staff presented a multifaceted plan to the St. Augustine City Commission on July 14 aimed at reducing traffic congestion and protecting neighborhoods during Knights of Lights and other high-visitor events.

Ruben Franklin, assistant city manager, told commissioners the city held five advertised public meetings and received feedback from 84 attendees. Staff proposals fall into five categories: parking strategies to reduce congestion; traffic-circulation changes; expansion of park-and-ride shuttle service; protections against cut-through traffic and spillover parking into neighborhoods; and public-safety deployments including temporary barricades.

Key short-term proposals discussed - Run shuttles later (into evenings and on peak days between Christmas and New Year) and expand park-and-ride locations; negotiate use of Flagler College garage during winter break for workforce parking. - Convert the Granada and Toks lots to workforce-permit parking to reserve spaces for employees. - Create temporary resident-only parking zones in neighborhoods adjacent to the historic district during peak nights; staff recommended a targeted outreach process and suggested starting with neighborhoods that have petitions or organized support (Flagler Model Land submitted a petition indicating support). - Increase fines for illegal parking in key downtown areas from $35 to $100 to deter unsafe or obstructive parking; staff sought direction on whether the higher fine should be zonal (downtown only) or citywide. - Consider increasing the entry fee for the historic parking garage when free shuttles are operating, to encourage park-and-ride use; staff proposed options in the $40'$60 range for shuttle-operating periods. - Install and redeploy larger meridian barricades and control intersections at peak times (for example closing Treasury Street to through traffic at St. George Street) to secure pedestrian mall areas.

Traffic circulation proposals Staff discussed temporary restricted turns from U.S. 1 into neighborhoods during peak congestion to prevent drivers from cutting through residential streets. Other suggested steps included removing parking on Cathedral Place to widen pedestrian space and create controlled crossings and restricting the Orange Street slip lane during peak times to prevent queuing into Avenida Menendez.

Enforcement and operations Franklin said the temporary resident-only parking program would require an outreach and pass issuance plan; staff recommended using license-plate registration and issuing hangtags or other visible markers for enforcement. The workforce-permit program would be administered by the city's parking division with businesses applying for allocations based on employee needs.

Commissioner feedback and next steps Commissioners generally supported the proposals but stressed implementation details. Commissioners asked staff to: (1) consult neighborhood associations before expanding temporary resident-only zones beyond the area that has already petitioned; (2) keep resident permit fees low or waived to encourage participation; (3) consider zonal application of the higher illegal-parking fine rather than a citywide increase; and (4) present specific fee options for the parking garage entry increase.

Staff said it will return with ordinance language and operational details, including options for zonal illegal-parking fines, workforce-permit program rules and proposed signage/enforcement approaches. The commission asked staff to coordinate heavily with the county (for additional park-and-ride capacity), Flagler College and private stakeholders to finalize options prior to the Knights of Lights season.

Ending: Commissioners requested follow-up reports and an implementation schedule. Staff will prepare ordinance draft(s) and operational plans to return to the commission for approval.