The krewes of Shaka and Ambrosia will parade on different routes this year instead of one following the other on the same path.
Both parades will be Sunday, with Shaka's starting at 1:30 p.m. and Ambrosia's at 2 p.m.
Shaka's parade will start on Martin Luther King Drive and proceed to School and St. Charles streets, turn onto Fifth Street and Canal Boulevard and continue downtown. It will proceed onto Jackson Street and Gerald T. Peltier Drive before ending on Martin Luther King Drive.
Ambrosia's parade will start on Audubon Avenue near Nicholls State University and then turn onto Menard Street, Canal Boulevard and West Second Street. It will then merge onto La. 1, turn onto Jackson Street, make a U-Turn on Canal Boulevard and proceed onto Gerald T. Peltier Drive. It will turn onto Bayou Lane and then back onto Menard Street, ending on Audubon Avenue.
Sunday's parades are the only ones in Thibodaux with overlapping times and different routes.
The krewes of Cleophas and Chronos will parade back-to-back starting at 12:30 p.m. Feb. 11. They will follow the same route as Ambrosia.
The Krewe of Ghana will parade at 1 p.m. Feb. 13 on the same route as Shaka.
Mayor Tommy Eschete said he and Thibodaux Police met with the krewes and got their input, but the city made the final decision.
"We met on probably three or four occasions," he said. "Ghana and Shaka asked to go through those neighborhoods that they'd traditionally gone through. Last year we tried to consolidate both routes, but (the krewes) didn't like it."
Eschete said some of the krewes have floats that are too big to pass on some streets.
After Mardi Gras, Eschete said, there will be more meetings to figure out if anything needs to change next year.
Shaka's captain, Denise Adams, said the changes resulted from compromise.
"I'm happy the decision was made to allow our organization to pass throughout its original route, our community," she said. "Passing through our community is something our organization enjoys, (is) proud of and looks forward to. ... Growing up, I enjoyed being on St. Charles Street watching my aunts and uncles participate in the parade. It was something I looked forward to."
Adams said she doesn't expect the change to negatively affect turnout.
Krewe of Ambrosia representatives couldn't be reached for comment.
-- Staff Writer Bridget Mire can be reached at 448-7639 or bridget.mire@dailycomet.com. Follow her on Twitter @bridget_mire.