Abbey Road crossing to get lollipop lady to control tourists

Updated
Abbey Road to introdiuce lollipop lady to control tourists
Abbey Road to introdiuce lollipop lady to control tourists



A lollipop lady - or man - could soon be introduced to the Abbey Road crossing made famous by The Beatles - in a bid to control the swarms of tourists who visit the site.

The zebra crossing in west London was made famous after Paul, John, George and Ringo posed there outside the Abbey Road studios for the cover of their 11th album on 8 August 1969, almost exactly 45 years ago.

It is now one of the biggest free tourist attractions in London - and people living in the area have complained about traffic issues, pedestrian safety, and graffiti caused by the thousands of tourists visiting.

According to the Evening Standard, Councillor Lindsey Hall said: "We have got to the point it has become the second most popular free tourist attraction in London. The only difficulty is that it does mean thousands and thousands of people coming into a small part of Westminster which is not good for tourists in this space.

"It is quite hard to police it 24/7, we have got to do something. It is a very busy through road, we have had real issues of double decker coaches parking up on double yellow lines."

She added that they would have to test whether tourists' photographs would be ruined, and said they did not want to be spoil-sports, but also wanted to ensure public safety.

Some fans have suggested that traffic should be diverted around the crossing instead, making use of side streets.

But local Richard Porter, who owns the Beatles Coffee Shop next to St John's Wood tube station, said he was for the lollipop person.

Speaking to the Mirror, he said: "Something needs to be done by the crossing.

"The graffiti is getting out of hand and you get some rather silly people on the crossing, standing in the middle of the road for ages.

"I've seen people with two buses passing each side and just standing there. It's a question of making things safer for people - both for local residents and for fans."







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