Bonnet Springs Park postpones annual Christmas light event because of traffic woes

LAKELAND, Fla. - Bonnet Springs Park is postponing its very popular holiday Christmas light event.

"Light Up BSP" draws tens of thousands of people to the area every year, which has created some traffic and parking headaches.

What we know:

Kristin Bunch visits Bonnet Springs Park on a weekly basis.

"I love that it's a natural park, it brings the community together, and it's a great place to study," she said.

She attended the "Light Up BSP" holiday event last year, which drew around 80,000 people in two and a half weeks.

"It was very beautiful. It had lights all over the park," Bunch said. "The bridge was lit up, and they had Christmas programs for the kids. Lots of activities for the whole family to enjoy."

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Entry to the park is free, which creates some challenges when it comes to parking and traffic.

What they're saying:

"For two and a half hours every night, all the roads out here get stopped," Park CEO Josh Henderson said.

He says they made the difficult decision to postpone this year's Light Up so they can improve the guest experience, especially for those visiting from out of town. They recently received a state grant to add more surface lots.

The park is currently building a 191-space parking lot, which is expected to be completed sometime in January. Once that's done, they'll add another 195 spaces.

"We're working with some other strategies to try to mitigate the traffic on the roads, including timed entries, and looking into all the options, so when people come to see the lights at Bonnet Springs Park, hopefully the story is the lights and not the traffic or the troubles it took to get into the park," Henderson said.

"I definitely think it's a positive thing that they're addressing the issues that come up and working with city planning to ensure the park is a success for everybody," Bunch said.

What's next:

Once these improvements are made, the plan is for the event to return next year in 2026.