Harlan Kirgan
St. Landry Parish Sheriff Bobby Guidroz urged the Parish Council to raise speed limits on newly paved roads in the parish.
“We are probably going to make the social media tonight because this probably is going to be one of the first times a sheriff comes to you and asks you to raise the speed limit on parish roads,” he said at Wednesday’s Parish Council meeting.
Speed limits are as low as 20 mph on some parish roads that up until the Smooth Ride Home Program were either pot-holed or gravel.
The parish is to pave about 300 miles of road with a $66 million, 15-year bond issue funded by a 2 percent sales tax collected in unincorporated areas.
The tax generates about $7 million a year with an annual bond payment of about $5.5 million.
“We have so many roads in the parish now that are blacktop and 20 mph just doesn’t cut it,” Guidroz said.
People are getting speeding tickets and they are complaining, he said.
“Please tell me if I’m overstepping my bounds. I want to know. But I’m here to make a suggestion. We have a lot of people complaining to the sheriff,” he said.
“If anybody sees a sheriff’s deputy with a radar machine running radar on any of these parish roads let me know,” he said.
Guidroz said he understands lower speed limits in residential areas.
“I will be willing to help you save you money if it is legal to do a study for you,” he said.
“I’ve been a trooper almost 30 years. I can tell you on the residential and non (residential) what is a safe speed,” he said.
Parish President Bill Fontenot has told the Parish Council in previous meetings that speed limit changes depend on the completion of a engineering study.
An engineering study is being conducted by Neel-Schaffer, Fontenot said. The study is to cost about $100,000, he said.
Fontenot said a professional study is needed to establish speed limits.
“Some of that delay is on me because of budget constraints...” he said of the speed limit changes.
At one point Guidroz said, “We are professionals.”
In response to a complaint about a state trooper writing tickets on parish roads in the Arnaudville area, Gruidroz said, “I’m going to talk to the troop commander at Troop I tomorrow ... I’m going to call and ask to keep troopers off the parish roads. If there is an issue we can handle it.”
Guidroz said he would ask his office’s lawyer if he can oversee a study using deputies and at no charge to the parish.
“I wouldn’t charge a dime,” he said.
“I just want to say’ ‘Hey we want to be part of the solution. We don’t want to be part of the problem,’” he said.