Residents tell Lafourche Council a Thibodaux intersection is ‘very, very dangerous’; parish vows study and engineering help

Gilda Cooks told the Lafourche Parish Council on Nov. 25 that recurring crashes at the Talbot Avenue/Ridgefield Road intersection in Thibodaux have produced serious injuries and that she has seen little effective action after repeated reports.

"My daughter almost lost her life there," Cooks said, describing a crash that left her daughter unable to work and with long-term injuries.

Councilman Broomfield and others confirmed multiple recent collisions at the intersection and said they had received videos and reports from constituents. Council members and members of the public criticized what they described as multiple years of study and little implementation, with several speakers calling for more direct action such as temporary police guidance or installing stop controls to test effects.

President Ozeron told the council he would first review what Southcentral Planning had already completed and, if the planning work had not produced action, the administration would "identify some internal funding so we can do the appropriate study" and retain an engineer to design a safety fix.

The council did not adopt a formal ordinance or vote on a remedy at the meeting. Instead, officials committed to follow up with Southcentral Planning, explore internal funding for an engineering study, and report back to the council with options. Council members urged the public to provide any additional accident information to help prioritize solutions.

Next steps announced at the meeting: the administration will audit Southcentral Planning’s deliverables for the intersection and — if inadequate — identify internal funds to retain an engineer for design work; no timeline for the study was provided during the meeting.