City centre stretch to be probed by Stirling Council
A stretch of city centre road on which two people have been struck by buses in the last year is to be subject to a review.
The Observer reported last Wednesday that an 80-year-old woman suffered serious injuries after being hit by a vehicle near the crossing on Station Road, close to the junction with Murray Place.
This comes nine months after another elderly woman was taken to hospital after also being hit by a bus near to the same crossing.
After we published last week’s story, a number of people came forward on social media to raise concerns about the safety of the road.
And Stirling Council has now responded by saying such accidents highlight the need for a review of the traffic management arrangements there.
A spokesperson said: “Concerns over this section of road have been raised by elected members and we are working with bus providers and councillors to evaluate the most appropriate plan of action.
“Serious incidents such as this, and the previous incident from 2017, underline the need to review the traffic management arrangements at this section of road.
“We wish the woman involved a full recovery and encourage all road users, both motorists and pedestrians, to take extra care when driving or walking through busy sections of the city, particularly in pedestrian priority areas such as this.”
In the aftermath of last week’s accident, which happened at around 2.30pm on Sunday, August 5, several people spoke of fears that there could be another accident on the road.
Many argued that the pedestrian crossing was too close to both the junction with Murray Place and the nearby bus stop.
Peter Mutch posted on Facebook: “Who makes decisions to put bus stops before and after a crossing, which is on a corner. How many more people have to get injured, or something else, before something is done about this.”
Denise McLiddell added: “Think they should be fixing it now before someone is killed. Second incident with a bus. It’s far to close to the junction!”
Stephen David Henderson commented: “A bus is half way across it, burling round the corner, before the driver can even see anyone.”
The Observer reported last Wednesday that two quickthinking teenage girls rushed to the assistance of the injured woman.
One of the girls went to the lady’s aid and administered first aid while another went to get help.
Emergency services arrived a short time later and the road was closed for 90-minutes while the incident was dealt with.
The woman was treated for a head wound before being taken to Forth Valley Royal Hospital with serious, but not life-threatening, injuries. She was kept in overnight for observation.