Citizen input needed on improving bayou side of banks

The Bayou Lafourche corridor between Donaldsonville and Port Fourchon will soon have a new look along its bayou side and banks thanks to U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu.

The Louisiana senator helped secure $500,000 in federal funds for the enhancements to the historic waterway.

Public meetings in Donaldsonville, Thibodaux, Lockport and Galliano have been held over the past few weeks to receive citizens’ input on how to bet use the initial funding for this project. Lafourche Parish administrator Cullen Curole said all input would be considered before the work is finalized. “These meetings are serving as venues to get ideas and the next round will be used to set some priorities for possible projects,” he said.

Many communities, including Napoleonville and Thibodaux, have existing plans for bayou side improvements. Curole said those plans would be reviewed to determine if aspects can be incorporated into the larger “Lafourche Cooridor” plan.

The improvements will be designed to provide more access to Bayou Lafourche.

An often-repeated suggestion has been to add wharves along the waterway so tourists and residents can congregate. Adding areas where people can fish or dine at the bayou’s edge has also been proposed.

“Ideas like these will greatly enhance the experience of the bayou for tourists,” said Carolyn Cheramie, executive director of the Laforuche Parish Tourist Commission. “Bayou Lafourche is a great tourist and economic selling point for the area and we should enhance it as much as possible. The dividends of that work will be tremendous.”

Other suggestions have included adding a wetlands nature park, where visitors could get a better understanding of the vital role the wetlands play in the area’s economy and how important Bayou Lafourche is to the area’s financial and environmental well-being.

It was also proposed that lighted bulkheads be built along the bayou, creating places to hold open-air seafood markets and similar events.

Some suggestions, however, addressed more everyday needs, such as cutting and maintaining the grass along the bayou banks and removing sunken and deteriorating vessels from bayou waters.

Additional meetings will be held through the month of March.

After priorities are determined, a final document will be drafted, Curole said.

“This has the potential to be a good improvement plan for the parish if we can get a stream of funds to do all the work,” he said.