Festival of the Chariot will necessitate interruptions in traffic
Procession set for Saturday, March 16 at 1:00pm
The procession associated with the Iskon of Alachua’s annual Festival of the Chariots will necessitate minor interruptions of traffic along Cordova St. and the area around the Plaza on Saturday, March 16.
The 90-minute parade is set to start at 1:00pm departing from St. George St. and Cathedral Pl. and proceeding west on Cathedral Pl., north on Cordova St. to the Visitors Information Center, then south on Cordova St., east on to Cathedral Pl. then south on St. George St. to the starting point. The procession is proceeded by a one-hour walking procession on St. George St. between Cathedral Pl. and Orange St. which may cause brief traffic halts at the street’s intersections with Treasury St. and Hypolita St.
In addition to the parade, the Iskon of Alachua’s cultural event will be held in the Plaza starting at 11:00 and lasting through the afternoon.
Traffic in the area should expect slow downs, congestion or brief halts to allow for the procession. St. Augustine Police will escort the procession and monitor key points to facilitate vehicular traffic and ensure the safety of the participants.

Complimentary motorcycle parking continues through Sunday
Cathedral Place is designated parking area through March 17
The City of St. Augustine continues the tradition of offering complimentary parking for motorcycles motorcycle parkingin a designated area of downtown during Bike Week concluding Sunday, March 17. Centered in Daytona Beach, Bike Week draws thousands of motorcycle enthusiasts, many who make day trips to or choose to stay in St. Augustine and St. Johns County.
The designated parking area, delineated by signs, encompasses portions of two-block long Cathedral Pl., between Avenida Menendez and Cordova St. The amount of parking will be adjusted each day by the St. Augustine Police Department based on demand. The designated area is the only area where motorcycles may park free of charge.
Over the years, the city has seen evidence that motorcyclists who utilize the specific area for complimentary parking tend to park multiple motorcycles in a single space, making for more efficient use of space while freeing other parking spaces for vehicles. Additionally, the area tends to becomes an unofficial display of a wide variety of motorcycles from around the county making it an attraction to visitors.

City establishes stormwater advisory committee
Monthly meetings open to the public
As the city nears completion on its Stormwater Master Plan, staff has compiled a group of interested citizens, homeowner associations, government and business leaders to discuss the findings of the report and issues related to the city’s stormwater and the stormwater utility.
The committee,comprised of 15 members will meet the third Tuesday of each month at 5:30pm beginning next Tuesday, March 19 and concluding on June 18. The meetings will be in The Alcazar Room, City Hall, 75 King St., and will last approximately an hour. Each session will be led by the city’s consultant CDM-Smith and are open to the public. For more information call the Public Works Department 904.825.1040.

Earth Hour’s message practiced every day at city’s parking facility
City’s message: “Lights out for an hour to start; find ways to conserve forever.”
On Saturday, March 23 at 8:30pm local time, businesses, households and governmental entities in communities all over the world will participate in the seventh annual Earth Hour by turning out lights for one hour as a way to show support for environmentally sustainable action. Earth Hour, an initiative of the World Wildlife Fund, began in 2007 in one city, Sidney, Australia, and by last year involved hundreds of millions of people in 152 countries across every continent.
The City of St. Augustine will participate by darkening the flood lights that provide up-lighting for the front of City Hall, but instead of a single hour, the city will darken the lights for the entire weekend including Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights.
Though not planned, the Earth Hour date nearly coincides with the first anniversary of the city’s putting into action the message Earth Hour was created to communicate: environmental sustainability. And just like Earth Hour, it has to do with saving energy through more efficient use of lighting.
Learn more by reading Earth Hour’s message practiced every day at city’s parking facility.

This week on The Break Room: New lighting technology saves dollars
Todd Grant, Deputy Public Works Director, stops by The Break Room this week to share updates on a number of public works projects and shares the exciting news on how new technology is saving the city a lot of money at the Historic Downtown Parking Facility.
Each week the friendly and informative style of The Break Room offers the community an opportunity to
know a little more about how their city works by getting to know those who do the work every day. The Break Room airs Wednesdays at 5:30pm and Saturdays at 8:00am, and each program is archived at www.breakroom.info as podcasts available for download anytime. To listen to this week’s program immediately, click here.

St. Johns County beach survey asks What do you think?
St. Johns County is inviting residents, visitors, and businesses who enjoy our local beaches to participate in a survey that will help the county enhance beach services and facilities. The survey ends April 15. To participate by sharing your feedback regarding St. Johns County beaches, click here.
For a handy flyer promoting the survey for use on community or workplace bulletin boards or to share with others, click here.

Commemoration of Florida’s 500th set for April 3
April 3, 2013 is a big day in Florida’s history. In fact it is the anniversary of there being a place with the name Florida. The place was already here of course; it just was not known as Florida, or La Florida, until Juan Ponce de Leon called it that on April 3, 1513.
The anniversary is not going unnoticed in St. Augustine which will see a morning filled with activities marking the big day which include four events all open to the public. To learn more, click here.

Share your artistic impression as part of Ancient City Mosaic
Artists of all ages and ability levels are invited to share their artist impression of St. Augustine by participating in Ancient City Mosaic presented by Michaels Stores®, a project that will showcase the creative talent of the local and regional community.
Registration is available online at www.ancientcitymosaic.com and must be submitted by April 15.
Ancient City Mosaic is supported by the St. Augustine 450th Commemoration, Sertoma Club of St. Augustine, St. Johns County Education Foundation, St. Augustine Art Association, St. Johns County Public Library System and St. Johns Cultural Council.
For more information, call the St. Augustine 450th Commemoration at 904.825.1053.

Upcoming events will affect traffic
March and April are two of the city’s most event-ful months with activities being held in a number of venues, like Francis Field, as well as along the streets of the city. Below are some of the upcoming events what will affect traffic. To see details for a specific event, click on the its name.
– Sat, March 16: Festival of the Chariot (downtown) and Run4Hunt Fun Walk/Run (vicinity of R. B. Hunt School)
– Sat, March 23: Grand Muster Torchlight Parade (downtown)
– Sat, March 24: Blessing of the Fleet (downtown)
– Sat, March 31: Easter Parade (downtown)
– Wed, April 3: Commemoration of Ponce Landing (downtown).

Easter holiday closings for the City of St. Augustine
Offices for the City of St. Augustine will be closed on Friday, March 29 in observance of the Easter holiday. Solid waste pick up schedule will remain unchanged.

Meeting schedule and agendas
The Stormwater Advisory Committee meets on Tuesday, March 19. For more information contact the Public Works Department at 904.825.1040.
The Historic Architectural Review Board meets twice on Thursday, March 21. The first is a special meeting at 1:00pm (agenda here) and the second is its regular meeting starting at 2:00pm (agenda here). When available the agenda will be here.
The City Commission meets on Monday, March 25. When available the agenda will be here.
The Parking and Traffic Committee meets on Thursday, March 28. The agenda is available here.
The Planning & Zoning Board meets on Tuesday, April 2. The agenda is here.

All agenda, minutes and GTV info
Agendas and minutes for all city meetings can be found at www.staugustinegovernment.com with a schedule of upcoming meetings listed under City Calendar. City Commission meetings are broadcast live via GTV (Comcast Channel 3 in St. Augustine) each second and fourth Monday at 5:00pm. Commission meetings are also recorded and rebroadcast as are Planning and Zoning Board and Historic Architectural Review Board meetings. For a current schedule of all programming on GTV, click here.

Source: City of St. Augustine