Bayou Vista sign ordinances come to a full stop

FRANKLIN — The saga of the Bayou Vista stop signs came to an end Wednesday, at least for now.

Two proposed ordinances, which had been on the agenda for at least two previous St. Mary Parish Council meetings, failed to get enough votes for passage at Wednesday’s regular meeting.

The ordinances were introduced by Councilman Scott Ramsey of Bayou Vista as a way to improve traffic flow. One would have removed a stop sign from a three-way stop on Jupiter and Columbus. The other would have done away with the four-way stop at Universe and Saturn.

Ramsey had argued that the stop signs aren’t necessary and actually encourage drivers to ignore them because they’re a nuisance.

Action on the ordinances had been delayed at the last two meetings, from which Ramsey was absent due to health problems. But each time, public hearings were held in anticipation of passage votes, and the ordinances drew opposition.

The opposition centered on safety.

“Taxpayers money was spent on a frivolous study,” former Parish Councilman Glen Hidalgo, who lives on Columbus Avenue, said in a written statement submitted to the council for the Jan. 25 hearing.

“Yet still no council members (with the exception of The chairperson) has spoken to one resident in the areas which this ordinance affects.

“Please think about what the consequences will be and how you will feel if someone gets hurt or worse, if these ordinances pass tonight.”

The ordinances were tabled that night, and on Wednesday, they failed to get enough votes for passage.

The easier vote seemed to be on the Jupiter-Columbus sign, which is in a largely residential area. The Universe-Saturn sign is on a truck route and in a more commercially oriented area.

Councilmen Rodney Olander of Franklin and Patrick Hebert of Berwick had raised the possibility of taking down the Jupiter-Columbus sign and leaving the Universe-Saturn signs in place.

Council Vice Chair Dr. Kristi Prejeant Rink said the signs in both areas meet the standards of the Federal Highway Administration’s Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices, which the council has adopted.

“If it’s up there and doing what it’s supposed to do,” said Council Chair Gwendolyn Hidalgo, “why take it down?”

Also Wednesday:

—Rink introduced an ordinance that names which voting precincts are in each of the council’s newly drawn election districts.

Twenty days must elapse between the introduction of an ordinance and the passage vote, so the final vote could come as early as March 7.

The council usually meets the second and fourth Wednesday of each month, but members voted Wednesday to change the date of the first March meeting to March 7.

—The council passed a resolution of respect for Shirley Butaud Thibodaux, who died recently. She served on the board of Fire Protection District No. 1 for nine years and the board of Mosquito Control District No. 1 for eight years.