The intersection near an 'Ewa Beach elementary school where a woman and three children were hit by a car Monday has been the scene of at least 10 other accidents since August 2002.

However, officials say it could be at least another year before a traffic signal will be installed at the intersection of Iroquois Point Road and Keaunui Street.

A 6-year-old boy, a pupil at Holomua Elementary School, suffered a broken leg when he and the others were struck as they used a crosswalk at the intersection one block from the school, police said. A woman, who was accompanying the boy, and two toddlers in a stroller also were hit by the car, police said.

Details were not available yesterday, though speed or alcohol did not appear to be involved in the 7:20 a.m. accident, police spokesman Michelle Yu said. Traffic investigators will review the case once they receive a written report from the Kapolei station, she said.

Neighborhood officials said yesterday that parents and others have been asking for several years for a traffic signal to be installed at the busy intersection.

"There's a history of accidents, near-misses and pedestrian collisions there," said state Sen. Will Espero, D-20th ('Ewa Beach, Waipahu). "It should never have taken this long to get something done."

Developer Gentry Properties agreed several years ago to pay for the light, but the installation has been delayed by a series of permit and regulation problems involving the city, the state and the federal government, Espero said.

"It shouldn't be this complicated and this difficult. We can't always wait for improvements until somebody gets killed. We need to re-evaluate the process," he said.

Many community residents believe that the delays are unacceptable, said state Rep. Kymberly Pine, R-43rd ('Ewa Beach).

"There's no excuse for lagging behind," Pine said. "If they know they're going to build thousands of homes, (they should) put in the roads and the traffic lights first."

Police records show that at least 10 accidents occurred at the intersection between August 2002 and August 2004. At least half of them occurred in the early morning or late afternoon hours when children are moving between newly built residential areas and the school and an adjacent park.

Reach Mike Leidemann at mleidemann@honoluluadvertiser.com.