No more reservations along parade route

Councilman says new law will help curb fights, keep River Road from looking trashy

For the first time in years, residents will no longer be able to block off areas along parade routes in St. Charles Parish during the 2009 Carnival season.

In the past, residents have used tape, cable, rope or even parked vehicles to reserve areas along the Krewe of Lul parade route. Sometimes, that blocking off was done months in advance. The new law that will prevent reservations became effective last month and was introduced by District II Councilman Shelley Tastet, who says that it should help prevent fights and keep River Road from looking “trashy.”

“You can’t restrict people from walking through public property, but that’s what was happening,” Tastet said. “People would try to pass through someone’s roped off area and there would sometimes be fights.

“It was also very trashy looking because some people block off areas two months in advance and then leave out all that trash when the parade was over.”

Tastet also wanted the law put in place because of maintenance concerns, especially along the Mississippi River levee near Paul Maillard Road.

The law prohibits any person or group from obstructing, barricading or preventing access in any way to public property, including neutral grounds, rights-of-way, streets or sidewalks. This also includes connecting ladders or chairs to reserve space along the parade route.

Residents are also prohibited from placing barricades or trailers fewer than 5 feet from the edge of the street or curbing to allow parade attendees to walk freely along the route without having to snake around large blocked off areas.

“Some people would block off these huge areas and it really made it hard for anyone to walk along the parade route or even get a good view of the parade,” Tastet said. “Those people were being very selfish in a way.”

Tastet says that residents had approached him about just such a law when he served on the levee board.

“When I became councilman, that gave me the ability to introduce this legislation and all the other council members were in favor of it also,” he said. “And those in favor of it weren’t just council members. It seems to me like 95 percent of the residents are in favor of it, while the 5 percent that roped off areas in the past may be upset.”

Along with blocking off areas along the parade routes in advance, no vehicle may be parked along the parade route before noon the day preceding the parade nor left in place after noon the following day.

Those found in violation of the law face a fine of up to $500, and the St. Charles Parish Sheriff’s Office can remove any obstructing devices, including vehicles, at the owner’s expense.