Nicholls offers parking along parade route during Mardi Gras holiday

Parade attendees are guaranteed a spot along the parade route by purchasing reserved parking on Nicholls State University’s campus during this Mardi Gras season.

Thibodaux rolls out six parades for the Mardi Gras season, all of which starts in front of John L. Guidry Stadium before heading North on Audubon avenue.

Everyone interested in parking on the parade route, including students, faculty, staff and the Nicholls community, has to purchase a parking spot. Parking is also available at no charge in other interior campus parking lots not directly along the parade route.

Nicholls started charging for parking in 2010 due to budget cuts and to offset the expenses of paying employees to clean up after the parades. Campus police oversee all parking policies.

The price to park a camper is $200 while the price for a car or truck is $50. These are all pre-paid spots in which you can choose where you want to be. The cost covers the vehicle for the entirety of the Mardi Gras season.

There are specific lots designated for reservation in 2017. Lot 7, located across from Gouaux Hall on Madewood Drive, is reserved for camper parking only. Lot 19, located between Audubon Drive and the Max Charter School, along with lot 20, located across from Babington Hall on Audubon Drive, offer parking for cars, trucks and vans. Also, lot 6, located on Audubon Drive between the James Alumni House and Scholars Hall, are provided for overflow camper parking, cars, trucks and vans.

Sgt. LaVerne Glenn, assistant director of parking services, explained that lot 20 opens up on the day of the parades and costs $10.

“It fluctuates year to year based on how many spots get reserved,”Glenn said. “Whatever is not sold on the day of the parade in lot 6 and 19 will sell for $10 as well.”

Parking spots started to sell on Jan. 9, 2017. An application for parking can be found on the Nicholls website at www.nicholls.edu/parking. Free parking is available for the internal lots on campus that are not along the parade route.

Tailgating is allowed in the areas along the parade route, but prohibited after 9 p.m.

Visitors are allowed to stay in their campers overnight the night before the parades. Also, visitors in reserved spaces are responsible for their own garbage pickup. The University will charge cleanup fees to visitors who leave garbage behind.

This year, the route will only pass down Audobon Drive once and will not be returning.

The upcoming parades are this Sunday, which begins with Cleophas, rolling at 12:30 p.m., followed by Thibodaux’s oldest Krewe, Chronos. On Tuesday, Ghana is scheduled to roll at 1 p.m. followed by Maasai at 2 p.m. Maasai is new to Lafourche Parish and will ride for the first time in 2017.