Old Town Lilburn's New Parking Deck Is Open. Here's the Holiday Season It Was Built For.

"The parking deck on Railroad Avenue is now open!" That was the lead item in the City of Lilburn's October 12 Lilburn Loop newsletter, and the timing works out well. Old Town's busiest evenings of the year are just ahead. They start with tomorrow's last Food Truck Tuesday and run through a tree lighting with a drone show and a Christmas parade down Main Street.

The deck matters for these nights, but it won't solve parking on its own. It changes where an Old Town evening starts. Main Street now has a partner in Railroad Avenue, which has a garage, a new cobblestone-style road and even a holiday train route. Knowing what the deck holds, and what it can't hold, makes the next two months easier to plan.

What opened, and what the city hasn't said yet

The opening came quickly at the end. In the city's September 28 update, crews were still on punch list items while required inspections continued. By the October 12 newsletter, the deck was open. A section of new paver roadway, designed to look like cobblestone, now connects Main Street to the development and can be driven on.

The deck is shared. Its private side serves The Porchline, the apartment community going up beside it. The city says Porchline is scheduling tours and that construction on the final phases will continue for the next few months, so expect some work activity around the site through the holidays.

As of this writing, the newsletter doesn't give an exact opening day, hours, parking rates or the location of the vehicle entrance. The city's Railroad Avenue project page is the place to watch for those details. Until the city posts them, check the signs on site before you assume parking is free or open all night.

The number that matters is 300

When the Lilburn Community Improvement District gave its July 2025 progress update, it described the finished deck this way:

An earlier 2022 concept site plan filed with the city showed slightly different figures: 413 multifamily spaces, 301 public spaces and 714 total. Either way, the public count comes out at about 300.

Now set that against the holiday calendar. The city's event listing for Holiday Lights & Flight Fest says last year's drone show drew 4,000 people. The city expects a similar crowd this year, according to Eventeny, "based on past holiday events." That count comes from the organizer, but even as a rough figure the gap is clear. Even if every car carried a family of four, 300 public spaces would hold about 1,200 people. For a Tuesday food truck night or a weekend lunch on Main Street, the deck is a real gain. On the biggest night of the season, it covers part of the crowd at most.

So on the nights that draw the most people, the deck helps most if you arrive early. If you live within walking distance of Old Town or the Camp Creek Greenway, walking in may still be the easiest way to get there.

Why Railroad Avenue is becoming the place to start

Look at where this season's events actually happen, and the deck's location makes more sense.

Holiday Lights & Flight Fest takes place in Lilburn City Park at 76 Main Street NW. Santa will be under the Gartrell Nash Pavilion. The city's description of the festival includes a train ride down Railroad Street. The new paver road links Main Street to the Railroad Avenue development, and the deck's public spaces were planned for park and trail users. Put together, the park, Railroad Avenue and the deck form one connected area for an evening out.

The city is also planning further ahead. Toole Design has finished its final recommendations for the Downtown Master Concept and East Old Town, and the reports are posted on the city's Downtown Master Concept page. The city is clear that these are recommendations, not approved projects. Anything built from them would need more planning, funding and approval by the Mayor and City Council. At First Avenue and Main Street, site work is complete on a 2.61-acre parcel. The Downtown Development Authority has asked developers for concepts that include 21 townhomes, a restaurant and two public parks. Those proposals are under review, and the plans are still conceptual.

The deck is the first piece of that bigger picture you can actually park in.

The season, in order

Here is how the next two months line up in Old Town, with the dates the city has published.

1. Tuesday, October 13: last Food Truck Tuesday of the season. The city's October 12 newsletter lists 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. at Lilburn City Park, though one Old Town calendar entry shows 5:00 to 8:00 p.m., so check the city's event page before heading over. The lineup includes The Jazz Burger, Flavor on the Fork, Love at Wurst Sight, Hungry Hippo Eats, Sweet Chimney Bakery, Issa Funnel Cakes and King of Pops. Performers from Music on Main will play. It's also one of the first big park nights with the deck open.
2. Saturday, November 14: America Recycles Day cleanup. It runs 9:00 a.m. to noon in the City Hall parking lot. Public Works will collect select bulk items and offer secure paper shredding. You don't need to live inside city limits to take part. The same morning, the Yellow River Trash Bash uses Lilburn City Park and the Greenway Trail as home base for litter pickup along Camp Creek and Jackson Creek, both tributaries of the Yellow River. Volunteers can sign up through the city's registration page.
3. Saturday, November 21: Holiday Lights & Flight Fest. It runs 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. in Lilburn City Park. The listing includes Santa, local music, food trucks and holiday treats, a kids' craft corner, a face painter, a balloon artist and the Lil train. The tree lighting is planned for around 6 p.m., followed by the drone show. Handmade arts and crafts vendors will also be selling gifts. The vendor application deadline is October 26.
4. Saturday, December 12: City of Lilburn Christmas Parade on Main Street. Teams, car clubs, businesses, schools and community groups can apply to march through November 8. The city hadn't posted a start time or route details as of the October 12 newsletter.

Last year's fest was Saturday, November 22, 2025, which puts this year's edition in the same pre-Thanksgiving spot. The drone show comes right at the end of the published hours, which may be why so many people stay until dark.

Old Town's own decorations

The fest and the parade are tied together by another event. The city is running its second annual holiday decorating competition for Old Town homes and businesses, and the public votes for favorites. Winners will be announced at the parade on December 12. The city asks participants to have decorations up by November 20, the day before Holiday Lights & Flight Fest, so the fest crowd can see the displays and start voting.

Spreading voting across three weeks also means people have reasons to come downtown between the two big nights. That's when the deck's public spaces should be easiest to find.

Quieter reasons to use the deck before December

Not every trip to Old Town this fall needs a festival.

• Lilburn City Hall has a new exhibit of work by members of the Lilburn Art Alliance, on display through the end of 2026. Local arts groups can apply now for 2027 quarterly exhibit slots through the city's Preston Art Gallery page.
• The Greenway Trail near Poplar Street is getting new boardwalk boards this week, after the work was pushed back from last week. The boardwalk and work area will be closed for what the city expects to be a few days, weather permitting. If you're walking toward Old Town on the Greenway, follow the posted signs around that stretch.
• Yard waste bags aren't an Old Town errand, but the same newsletter notes that city residents can request up to 10 free bags a month through SeeClickFix. Public Works plans to deliver them in the third week of each month, alongside chipper service. That's handy timing for leaf season before the decorating deadline.

The deck has been under construction since a May 2025 groundbreaking. This holiday season will be its first real test, with about 300 public spaces against crowds the city expects to reach the thousands. People who walk in, or park early and stay for the drone show, are likely to have the easiest night.

If you're a Lilburn homeowner wondering how the Railroad Avenue and First & Main changes could shape life near Old Town, I'm glad to talk it through over coffee, with no agenda attached. Audrey Bankhead follows these city updates closely and is always happy to share what she's learning. Let's Connect.