SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — Every year in Santee, Glendon Circle and surrounding streets transform into Starlight Circle. This year, you may notice some changes to help with the traffic flow.
"There’s no one specific theme, so it’s open to anything," says Resident John Shadwell. He's one of the original homeowners on Glendon Circle. Every year, he puts up Christmas decorations and lights, both outside and inside his house.
And each year his collection and the family's productions have gotten bigger and bigger.
Shadwell adds, "We’re the ones who started it first. It blossomed from there, at least this corner here. And it grows and grows and grows, and it hasn’t stopped yet."
As more people and cars come to visit, the number of people selling stuff has also grown.
He adds, "Not only is there hot chocolate, but there's a vendor selling kettle corn, cotton candy, and cinnamon rolls."
Which over the years has added to the holiday traffic chaos.
Resident Rob Zabrowski says, " In the past, we’ve had vendors setting up on corners, which normally wouldn’t be a big deal, but they impeded traffic. Either sidewalk traffic or literally people grouping around wanting to get theirs. It creates a bottleneck."
Starlight Circle is not a city sanctioned event, but they'd tried to help move the flow of traffic flow in previous years. From putting out "No Parking" signs towards the entrance into the neighborhood, to cracking down on sidewalk vendors setting up in one spot.
The city sent us a fact sheet, pointing out that stationary sidewalk vendors are prohibited in residential areas.
This year, the city will start enforcing that rule.
Vendors will still be allowed but they have to be mobile.
Residents like Zabrowski say he's glad they're getting some help managing traffic without removing what makes Starlight City special, because it's run entirely by the neighborhood.
He adds, " All while not trying to come out and directly control and monitor and dictate how this plays out."
Ensuring residents can continue to make memories for years to come.
