Study to find out why you’re stuck in traffic

DO YOU you dread the rush hour standstill on Highway 90 in Boutte - or creeping along at a snail’s pace on River Road? If so, then we’ve got some good news for you.

The parish’s planning and zoning department has allocated $300,000 for a first-ever traffic study and land-use survey that will help determine if parish roads are in need of improvements, additions, widening or other forms of relief.

Planning and Zoning Director Mike Henderson told the Herald-Guide that since Hurricane Katrina his department has seen a 25 percent increase in permit applications, and with the development of new subdivisions, there is bound to be more traffic.

“New subdivisions along River Road have and will continue to create heavier traffic on the east and west banks of the parish,” says Henderson.

“There has never been a traffic study conducted before, but I feel it is necessary considering our growth.”

The department will begin work on the study in December, and Henderson hopes that by February recommendations can be made to the parish council.