Levytown residents rally for Good Earth stop

James Livas has lived in the Levytown area his entire life. There was a day when strolling 1.5 miles was no problem. But at the age of 60, and with crippling physical limitations, the walk has become a definite challenge. It is an effort compounded during inclement weather or when trying to carry grocery bags along a busy highway from the nearest bus stop to his home more than a mile away. For him the effort to use public transportation has become more than inconvenient.

Livas is not alone. Residents of the unincorporated area of Levytown, located along a stretch of La. Highway 311 between La. Highway 24 and the Magnolia area at Main Project Road, and nearly two miles south of Schriever, includes a significant number of people from the elderly to the very young who rely on the Good Earth Transit system to travel between Houma and Thibodaux for basic living supplies, schools and work.

“We are in an area that includes three schools, two churches, a senior citizens center and a public gym,” resident Ingrid Harris said. “We have a lot of people who use the bus, but we have to walk over a mile to get to it.”

“It is a safety issue [as much as convenience],” Livas said. “We are walking along [La. Highway 311] to get to and from where the bus puts us out at the [St. Bridget] Catholic church. Sometimes it is raining. Sometimes it is dark. And you have these ladies that have to walk this.”

On Aug. 22, Harris and Livas presented a petition to the Terrebonne Parish Council, requesting that a stop be added, possibly at the New Magnolia Baptist Church or Caldwell Middle School, to the bus route that already runs along La. Highway 24 between Houma and Thibodaux.

On Sunday, 28 area residents met at New Magnolia Baptist Church with Terrebonne Parish Councilwoman Arlanda Williams, Terrebonne School Board member Gregory Harding and other community leaders to learn their status and the next step in securing a ride.

“I asked for a report at our last council meeting on which bus routes are not being used to the full,” Williams told the assembly. “We have many bus routes around the parish, but the question was, ‘How many of them are actually being utilized so that we can change some routes around and make this route one being [fully utilized]?'”

Previously, Good Earth Public Transit Administrator Wendell Voisin had stated, adding a new bus route could cost up to $60,000 and making changes to accommodate the people of Levytown could result in the loss of 27 existing riders.

Williams said that reviewing and shifting all routes could head off concerns of affordability in making a short detour off the current route that passes Levytown, into the heart of this community itself.

“I don’t see where it should cost any [extra] money to ride that bus not even two miles down the road to pick us up, and go back out the road to Thibodaux and Houma.” Livas said.

“Wendell’s explanation of the funding came in when you add a route, a driver and extra fuel costs,” Williams said. “That is his definition of the funding. Our question was if we could redirect some routes that are not being used to add this one and offset the costs of adding a totally new route.”

Williams argued that making a stop in Levytown is not the same as adding an entire route and that any suspected lost in passengers or revenue from the existing route would more than be made up for by the people of this community that would use the bus every day.

“We’re not actually losing a bus route,” Williams said. “We are actually gaining passengers. We are just making changes.”

Harris said that locals are willing to ride bus routes earlier to get to work and stay later at job locations to get a bus ride home, rather than pay $30 for taxi cabs from Houma or Thibodaux to drive the same one-way distance they could ride the bus for at a rate of $1. “We can’t afford $60 a day to go to work,” she said.

“My concern right now is getting the route,” Williams said. “I’ll work on the time once I can get them to agree.”

Voisin did not return repeated telephone messages intended to get his most recent thoughts on the proposed Levytown stop and Sunday’s public meeting.

Louisiana state Senate candidate Darrin Guidry attended the meeting upon Williams’ request and told those in attendance that knowing their concerns could help in securing state funding for the parish-run bus route.

“Often times, when you deal with people in government agencies, they can throw out numbers [and make] the same deal by [adjusting] numbers,” Guidry said. “How we move numbers around makes a difference. If there are 27 riders we can calculate the economic benefits of those 27 riders being a positive part of the economy. The key is we need to get the route done and we need to put the numbers together that make it happen.”

Guidry cited the availability of Community Development Block Grants and even Department of Agriculture economic development grants that are available to the state for public transportation needs if the parish balked on costs. “It is how you do the numbers and how you put the package together,” he said. “It is a matter of asking the right question to get the right answer.”

Williams and Guidry said that the only major change in the existing bus route would be 10 to 15 minutes added each trip with a new stop to let out and pick up passengers. They admitted that little factors that do add up to overall costs, but added their belief that savings on the other end would more than make up for any new expense.

“There are too many [developments] and industries coming up on [La.] Highway 311 and [La.] Highway 24 to not take this [stop] into consideration,” Williams said.

[Fletcher Technical Community College] is building [a new facility] on [La. Highway] 311, and people will need a means to get there,” resident John Brown said.

Following the meeting an unidentified attendee said he and many of young adults stay in Levytown to care for elderly relatives. In his case he would like to attend Fletcher Technical Community College, but needs reliable public transportation to be able to do so and gain employable skills while still taking care of his family member.

Williams said she and Harding had been in discussion to see if arrangements could be made for Good Earth Transit to use Caldwell Middle School as a turnaround point for an extended Houma and Thibodaux route.

“I think there is a need for a bus in this area,” Harding said. “Also there is a need for many of the kids that attend Caldwell school [to secure] transportation. That is one of my concerns. And knowing that this is an older community we depend on public transportation. Whatever we got to do to make this thing happen, we are going to make it happen.”

Indicating that she has the support of Terrebonne Parish President Michel Claudet and most of the parish council, Williams said she expects the bus stop to become a reality once adjustments and financing are determined.

“The next step is going to be sitting down with school board officials to see how we can make [a turnaround location] happen,” Williams said.

Williams’ plan for the Houma to Thibodaux route could involve 10 drops a day including the Levytown stop. She echoed public concern that this is not simply a matter of convenience, but one of safety, and an opportunity to enhance the education and employment of area residents.

“There is all that,” Harris said following the meeting. “But another thing I thought about is that we have to take the bus to get to where we vote. We need that [opportunity] as well.”

“I’m going to work due diligence to make sure this gets done,” Williams said. “I’ve always been a big proponent of public transit, because I look at the fact that we have the lowest unemployment in the state. But we could be even better if we allow people the opportunity to get to and from work. I [also] know that a lot of times parents can’t get to schools to get their children because there is no transportation. All those things work into giving people an opportunity. We pay taxes and should have a right to the same things everybody else in this parish has.”

Efforts on the part of Levytown residents to secure a bus route in their community date back nearly a decade. Williams said that a feasibility report from Good Earth Transit that focuses on adding the Levytown stop is expected to be presented at the Sept. 26 meeting of Terrebonne Parish Council committees.

Livas would like hear the results of that transit report, if he can get a ride.

Walking 1 1/2 miles along La. Highway 311 from their homes to the nearest bus stop on La. Highway 24 in all weather conditions has become a common but unsafe part of catching the Good Earth Transit bus as it runs between Houma and Thibodaux for residents of Levytown. MIKE NIXON