Ask any Austinite and they will tell you that Austin during the holiday season is a spectacular sight. Congress Avenue sparkles with lights and glistens with tinsel. Zilker Park’s beloved Trail of Lights and Holiday Tree are an unforgettable experience.

Unfortunately, Austin has not had its traditional holiday lights for the past two years due to budget issues.

An organization called the Downtown Austin Alliance wants to bring those lights to downtown Austin. However, these lights will not just be around for the holiday season. They will illuminate Congress Avenue year-round.

Starting in November, the DAA will be putting up special energy-efficient LED lights on every tree that lines Congress Avenue between Cesar Chavez and 11th Street, according to culturemap.com.

The best part is that the DAA is spending $370,000 of its own money to light the trees of Congress. The DAA hopes that this gesture will breathe new life into downtown Austin and attract new attention to our little liberal oasis. The DAA wants to enhance the experience of walking downtown by capitalizing on Austin’s unique spirit and they hope it will benefit the city.

One of the DAA’s main goals is to make Congress Avenue one of the most memorable American streets, like Chicago’s Michigan Avenue and Los Angeles’s Sunset Boulevard.

The DAA’s vision is for Congress Avenue to be known as “The Main Street of Texas,” a shining oasis in the heart of the Lone Star State. Bringing that kind of attention to Austin and putting it in the national spotlight could do wonders for Austin’s economy, and, given the current economic climate, that would definitely be good for the city.

These may seem like big rewards to expect from some tree lights, but Austin is already an exceptionally special place and the DAA pulled out all the stops to plan and implement this project. After doing research on what Austin citizens wanted to improve in downtown, the DAA found that the pedestrian experience and ambience was among the top three things listed.

On top of that, they chose Blachere Illumination, a world-renowned supplier of outdoor festive lighting, to adorn downtown. This is an especially appropriate choice since their energy-efficient designs stay true to Austin’s sustainability initiative.

Also, some of Blachere Illumination’s finest work has been featured at the Eiffel Tower and the Champs-Elysees in Paris, which are among the most visited places in the world. These lights could mean a bright future for our special little city.