A PENSIONER was knocked down at a busy junction just days before a road safety meeting about the same spot she was struck, which was described as “an accident waiting to happen”.
The 85-year-old was left by the roadside with serious injuries on Morningside Grove in Edinburgh on Friday night, just after she stepped off a bus.
Police have now been able to interview her in hospital but are still trying to trace the driver that fled the scene.
A meeting is to be held on Thursday to discuss the installation of a pedestrian crossing at the spot where she was struck.
The woman, who remains unnamed, was getting off of a number 23 bus just after 6pm when she was hit by a passing car.
She was trying to cross the road to her home within the Craiglea Place Sheltered Housing Complex.
Emergency services took the injured woman to the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary where she is still being treated for multiple fractures.
Residents at the home have been campaigning for the crossing to be installed in the area and a meeting has been scheduled to take place on Thursday.
David Barber, chairman of the proprietor’s association at the housing complex, explained that they have been trying to get a crossing put in place for years.
The 67-year-old said: “One councillor is trying to help us set up a crossing somewhere on the stretch of road outside.
“We’ve been trying for a great number of years now to get it put in place.”
He added: “I’m not shocked that this happened. It was an accident waiting to happen. The speed some of these drivers are going is just so high.”
When asked about how the woman who was hit was doing, Mr Barber replied: “I saw her yesterday, she’s doing no too bad.”
Betty Barber, secretary of the complex’s proprietor’s association, said: “It is so unfortunate that this has happened but it really does reinforce our case to have a crossing installed. I was only a matter of time before someone was hurt.
“The road is a rat run and is very dangerous, cars just zip along. There are a lot of young children in the area too not just elderly residents.”
She added: “It’s terrible to think that this lady was seriously injured and the driver didn’t even stop. I hope the police catch whoever did this.”
The meeting on Thursday will include residents and city transport officials and has been organised by local councillor Mark McInnes.
He said: “I’m desperately sorry to hear of this hit and run and my thought are with this woman and her family but this is something that myself and the residents have been campaigning about for some time.
“This is a very busy route for a residential street and it would benefit greatly from a pedestrian crossing.
“The transport officials will see and no doubt loudly hear the case for this on Thursday.”
Edinburgh council said they were considering relocating bus stops to make crossing the road easier.
Councillor Lesley Hinds, Transport Convener, said: “This was a dreadful accident made all themore upsetting by the sheer cowardice of the driver, who failed to stop at the scene.
“My thoughts are with the injured lady and her family. The Council has been working with the local community for some time now to try and find a way of managing traffic on Morningside Grove – in fact, transport staff have a meeting scheduled with community representatives later this week.
“Unfortunately, Morningside Grove is a particularly challenging location for traffic control measures because it is located on a hill with steep brows on each side, giving drivers little time to slow down or stop.
“As well as the provision of pedestrian crossing facilities, we are also considering alternative options such as relocating bus stops to make it easier to cross the road along the whole length of Morningside Grove.”
A spokeswoman for Lothian and Border Police said: “We are in the early stages of our investigation, and we would appeal to anyone who witnessed the incident to come forward.
“The woman is being treated in hospital for serious injuries.”
