CENTRAL - City leaders are calling for people to pay attention on the road, citing distracted driving as a major cause of crashes on Central's roadways.

On Sept. 26, an accident occurred where a pedestrian was struck and killed while changing a tire. Central Assistant Police Chief Cliff Ivey said there have been two more serious accidents since then.

"One of which involved an intoxicated driver striking a thankfully unloaded bus," Ivey said.

Ivey said there have also been more people using the Magnolia Bridge to travel recently which could be the reason for more calls and accidents.

"People trying to avoid construction projects on I-10, I-12. Maybe they're coming from the north part of the parish trying to go to the north part of Livingston Parish. They may come across the old bridge," Ivey said. "Over the past 15 days, we've had a reported 6 [accidents] so we are steadily getting more crashes in the city of Central."

Central Mayor Wade Evans said it is hard to say whether or not there has been an increase proportionally because more traffic could be the reason for more accidents.

"When you take a substandard road, people driving too fast, then you have those who don't pay attention, then you have a recipe for disaster," Evans said.

Evans and Ivey both said distracted driving has been an issue on both Magnolia Bridge Road and Greenwell Springs Road.

For Magnolia Bridge Road, Evan said there is a state project set to go to bid in February that will reconstruct that road. The mayor said he is focusing efforts on Greenwell Springs and what the city can do.

As previously reported, a parish-wide project set to bid in 2026 would add pavement markings and rumble strips to roads like Greenwell Springs. Evans wants the work done sooner and said the city is considering taking the project on.

"Even if they let it in March of next year, that's 6 months. How many accidents can happen in six months?" Evans said. "I'm saying we could mobilize a crew and get it started in 4 to 6 weeks."

The mayor said he is also establishing an advisory committee for more public input regarding the roads. There is no word on when the initial meeting will take place.