(This story was revised to correct the spelling of a name.)
The City of St. Augustine is using Fireworks Over the Matanzas 2025 to test proposed changes for dealing with crowds descending on America’s oldest city in light of the gridlock and overcrowding that took place during last year’s Nights of Lights.
The July Fourth changes include:
Visitor check list
The city issued a visitor check list for those attending Fireworks Over the Matanzas:
‘Testing the ideas’
Vice-Mayor Barbara Blonder told the St. Augustine Record that city staff members had been working really hard to assess the problems as a result of the record setting attendance the 2024-25 Nights of Lights Season.
“Public restrooms have been added, and the streets are being routed in a very deliberate way, which is a big improvement,” she said. “Our messaging is for everyone to stay and enjoy the beauty of the city after the fireworks end to let the traffic thin out.”
Blonder added that the city remains open to the idea of adaptive management.
“Testing the ideas will be a great testament to how well our efforts have worked so that we can expand or modify,” she continued.
Irving Kass, chairman of the Tourist Development Council, described the changes as good first steps.
“The city is moving forward to improve the Fourth of July and the Nights of Lights experience,” he told the St. Augustine Record. “More needs to be done, but this is a great first step.”
Changes stemming from Nights of Lights
In March, St. Augustine voted to shorten Nights of Lights for the 2025-26 season by a week. The annual event will now begin on Nov. 15 and end on Jan. 11.
Blonder argued for shortening the event even more by saying “We are being loved to death” after the season’s unprecedented crowds, gridlock and additional cleanup cost the city an unexpected $325,000.
Blonder was not alone in her assessment. Reaction from residents and governmental officials, including Mayor Nancy Sikes-Kline, concerning the overcrowding was swift and severe.
In earlier interviews with The St. Augustine Record, Sikes-Kline described the crowds and traffic gridlock as “unsustainable craziness bordering on over-tourism.”
This article originally appeared on St. Augustine Record: Fireworks Over Matanzas will be a test run for St. Augustine to deal with crowds
Reporting by Lucia Viti, St. Augustine Record / St. Augustine Record
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