Trail of Lights closed again, expected to open Wednesday

AUSTIN, Texas - It's a wash out. Austin's Trail of Lights was closed Tuesday night for the third time in a week. Rain and standing water is to blame.

"Well I was thinking I could go for a little mud-slide," says Riley Cummins, Austinite.   

The Trail of Lights has turned into a trail of water. Riley Cummins said she lucked out by going to the event last week. 

"My family moved here in 2001. I was around two years old and I've been coming every year since. So, it's a real tradition for a lot of us Austinites," said Cummins. 

This is the first year that the Trail of Lights has had to cancel three times. Heavy rains over the weekend forced cancellations both Saturday and Sunday. The ground was already saturated so the storm overnight Monday caused even more problems. The amount of standing water has grown in areas critical to the operation of the Trail of Lights. That's why the Austin Parks and Recreation Department decided to cancel the event Tuesday night as well. 

"One is public safety, and when the public safety is called into question, it's an easy decision to cancel. Two is the condition of the park. Obviously our goal is to leave the park in better condition then when we found it and putting tens of thousands of people out here on the grass, would not be part of that mission at all," said James Russell, executive director, Trail of Lights Foundation. 

Russell said the third point, is the quality of the product provided to the public. They said if they were to open looking like this, it would not be up to par. The remediation process has already begun. Organizers are bringing in pump trucks and mulch to make sure standing water is gone. The hope is to re-open on Wednesday but this upcoming Friday and Saturday aren't looking great weather-wise either.     

"You really can't do anything if it's raining, you know. The park is full of water. I wanted to bring him out here to play and I thought it was going to be a lot drier than this. I wouldn't want to be out here when it's this wet," said Austinite. 

According to the Trail of Lights website: 
Ticket buyers who purchased shuttle, GA and ZIP passes for December 16, 17, or 19 may use those passes any open night of the Trail of Lights. Please present ticket at the appropriate entrance for entry at no extra cost. Platinum and Parking tickets must be exchanged to another evening pending availability. Please submit your exchange requests no later than 5pm on the new day you’d like to attend to exchanges@austintrailoflights.org.