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Post by stavros on Aug 9, 2014 16:22:03 GMT -5
Well some 45 years (almost to the day) after the iconic Beatles photograph was taken it seems London is finally getting a bit twitchy about the famous Abbey Road zebra crossing. Although I can't say I've done a survey the old fashioned zebra crossings have, along with red telephone boxes, almost vanished from the British landscape in the 21st Century. There are none whatsoever left in many areas having been replaced with 'Pelican' crossings. Which are deemed safer. However Abbey Road's crossing is Grade II listed, meaning it will remain as a zebra crossing because of it's cultural and historical significance. But oddly, back when the listing was awarded in 2010, the BBC (and other media sources) claimed the original crossing on the cover of Abbey Road had been moved a few metres. However the evidence presented by a number of websites seems pretty conclusive that, other than the necessary maintenance of the road and repainting of the crossing, it's pretty much still in the same place give or take an inch of paint or so:  WogBlogGrundoon.com |
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Post by John S. Damm on Aug 9, 2014 22:19:36 GMT -5
The Abbey Road Crossing is sacred. It must be preserved!
Get rid of it and lose millions of dollars of tourism. Make the damn cars slow down in that area. What's the use of hurrying?
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Post by vectisfabber on Aug 10, 2014 9:40:39 GMT -5
To be fair, the damn cars have to slow down in that area - there's no option. The law says people on zebra crossings have right of way and, for that crossing, if there isn't someone already on it, there's someone lining up to cross it. All day long. It must be a real pain in the arse for motorists in the area. The real menace are the people out in the middle of the road with cameras, trying to get in as near the same spot as Ian Macmillan, who do NOT have priority over motorists.
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Post by John S. Damm on Aug 10, 2014 10:23:12 GMT -5
To be fair, the damn cars have to slow down in that area - there's no option. The law says people on zebra crossings have right of way and, for that crossing, if there isn't someone already on it, there's someone lining up to cross it. All day long. It must be a real pain in the arse for motorists in the area. The real menace are the people out in the middle of the road with cameras, trying to get in as near the same spot as Ian Macmillan, who do NOT have priority over motorists. Gee, when did you grow up and leave Pepperland? Yes it is inconvenient to some drivers but think of why: the zebra crosswalk is a national shrine, it marks the site of an iconic Beatles moment. It doesn't matter, as soon as the Islamic State(formerly known as ISIS) takes over, they'll blow that crosswalk up anyway as being religious heresy. |
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Post by Snookeroo on Aug 10, 2014 20:59:32 GMT -5
Did you know that there's a live Abbey Road cam going 27/7. Just in case you want to see it at any moment. When I've looked at it in the evening here in NY it dead quiet there. Nighttime. www.onabbeyroad.com/cam.htm |
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Post by theman on Aug 10, 2014 21:53:43 GMT -5
Didn't realize this site existed. Thanks Snookeroo! Kinda cool.
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Post by vectisfabber on Aug 11, 2014 3:36:44 GMT -5
To be fair, the damn cars have to slow down in that area - there's no option. The law says people on zebra crossings have right of way and, for that crossing, if there isn't someone already on it, there's someone lining up to cross it. All day long. It must be a real pain in the arse for motorists in the area. The real menace are the people out in the middle of the road with cameras, trying to get in as near the same spot as Ian Macmillan, who do NOT have priority over motorists. Gee, when did you grow up and leave Pepperland? Yes it is inconvenient to some drivers but think of why: the zebra crosswalk is a national shrine, it marks the site of an iconic Beatles moment. It doesn't matter, as soon as the Islamic State(formerly known as ISIS) takes over, they'll blow that crosswalk up anyway as being religious heresy. Hold your horses, old bean! I'm just reporting, no editorial opinion at all, just commentary based on my own experience, having held the traffic up myself. My opinion is that this crossing must be preserved and the traffic will just have to put up with it. |
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Post by John S. Damm on Aug 11, 2014 8:53:08 GMT -5
Gee, when did you grow up and leave Pepperland? Yes it is inconvenient to some drivers but think of why: the zebra crosswalk is a national shrine, it marks the site of an iconic Beatles moment. It doesn't matter, as soon as the Islamic State(formerly known as ISIS) takes over, they'll blow that crosswalk up anyway as being religious heresy. Hold your horses, old bean! I'm just reporting, no editorial opinion at all, just commentary based on my own experience, having held the traffic up myself. My opinion is that this crossing must be preserved and the traffic will just have to put up with it. LOL! Oh, did I forget my  It did sound a little like you were taking the drivers' side but then I remembered that you are a somewhat wary and always cautious driver and you would be mindful of the little Japanese school girls recreating the "cross" or obnoxious Americans, like me, literally trying to stop traffic mid-day to get that perfect shot!  And yes, that Abbey Road cam is cool, thanks Snooks for posting it! I have seen it before but lost the link and last night I saw a car zoom by on the wrong side of the road!! I swear I am not in London right now, vectis! |
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Post by stavros on Aug 11, 2014 17:05:21 GMT -5
I think the point of the article was that Westminster council are considering appointing "lollipop" ladies to Abbey Road's famous crossing to give some control to the flow of traffic and to offer some protection to the pedestrians. Hopefully they will take a low profile when people are taking their own snaps of the famous crossing. But the crossing is one of our most famous historical landmarks and long may it remain. And JSD you should note that when in Britain it is actually wrong to drive on the right side of the road. |
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kc
Beatle Freak
Posts: 1,085
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Post by kc on Aug 11, 2014 20:06:08 GMT -5
Is there a speed limit specified for pedestrian crossings in the UK? There is here, 25km/h, which is definitely slow, though I don't know if that is a national standard. Driver's don't always comply, of course.
If the London authorities have some cash to spare they could think about putting in an underpass, leaving the current portion of road to pedestrians only. I don't suppose that will happen.
I assume that the street in question has been resurfaced at least a couple of times since 1969. Doesn't that mean the true original crossing is a few inches below the present one? I can be a little pedantic.
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Post by scousette on Aug 11, 2014 23:00:26 GMT -5
Every Beatles fan has to make the crossing at some point. I even did it barefoot a la Macca with a ciggie in my hand.
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Post by John S. Damm on Aug 13, 2014 9:31:47 GMT -5
Every Beatles fan has to make the crossing at some point. I even did it barefoot a la Macca with a ciggie in my hand. scousette, as the founder and current President of the Cass County Hookworm Awareness Society, I must object to your encouraging perhaps younger Beatles' fans going barefoot even at such an iconic location. Hookworm is spread when barefoot humans walk on the larvae of said insidious hookworms. We have had to overcome a lot of misperceptions caused by Paul walking barefoot on that album cover. City streets are as dangerous as human feces covered dirt roads! And as to the cigarette madam, I can only hope that it was a prop, unlit thus not exposing you and others to the known danger of tobacco smoke! |
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Post by scousette on Aug 13, 2014 13:33:36 GMT -5
Every Beatles fan has to make the crossing at some point. I even did it barefoot a la Macca with a ciggie in my hand. scousette, as the founder and current President of the Cass County Hookworm Awareness Society, I must object to your encouraging perhaps younger Beatles' fans going barefoot even at such an iconic location. Hookworm is spread when barefoot humans walk on the larvae of said insidious hookworms. We have had to overcome a lot of misperceptions caused by Paul walking barefoot on that album cover. City streets are as dangerous as human feces covered dirt roads! And as to the cigarette madam, I can only hope that it was a prop, unlit thus not exposing you and others to the known danger of tobacco smoke! Wet blanket!  |
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Post by debjorgo on Nov 9, 2014 12:54:46 GMT -5
Someone got hit earlier today at the crossing. I guess the lollipop lady is coming for sure now.
It's already on youtube:
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andyb
Very Clean
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Post by andyb on Nov 9, 2014 14:33:38 GMT -5
What on earth was she thinking?
It would be cruel to put a Lollipop Lady/Man on that site if that's gonna happen. They'd have nightmares thinking they should have done something to stop it.
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Post by John S. Damm on Nov 9, 2014 21:35:25 GMT -5
WTF! Did the car that hit her take off!
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Post by debjorgo on Nov 9, 2014 22:13:14 GMT -5
I think the guy in the frame it's paused on with the stripe down his pant's leg is the driver. He walked up from the direction the car would have been if it had pulled over.
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andyb
Very Clean
Posts: 878
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Post by andyb on Nov 10, 2014 5:30:21 GMT -5
It's hard to tell for certain but isn't the guy with the striped leg the jogger that runs out of frame just before the accident?
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Post by vectisfabber on Nov 10, 2014 5:47:32 GMT -5
If she was on the crossing at the time she was hit, it wasn't her fault.
A quick story, cousin to the above. My late friend Terry with whom I worked, and who died from issues related to long-term kidney failure, was returning home from hospital following a dialysis session. These always left him feeling rough. He decided to pull in to the small supermarket in Wootton (site of the 1969 Dylan pop festival, I digress) to get a couple of bits. The entry to the front of store parking was bordered by two brick gateposts and a wall on either side. Two teenage girls had been having fun for some time by deliberately sauntering across the entry every time a car pulled in, in order to make it stop. What japes! Terry drove into them and knocked them over, which injured their dignity more than anything else. They got up outraged, and the conversation went something along the lines of:
"You can't do that!"
"I just did it."
"You could have killed us!"
"So?"
"You were supposed to stop!"
"And you took a risk and lost."
"We'll sue you!"
"Go ahead. I don't give a sh*t."
"You'll be in so much trouble!"
"I've got an illness which is going to kill me. I don't give a sh*t about two silly little tarts playing a silly little game. If you're going to play games like that you need to take on board that you just might play it with someone like me who really doesn't give a flying f*** what happens to you. So take my car licence plate number and do whatever you're going to do."
He got a round of applause from the supermarket staff.
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Post by John S. Damm on Nov 10, 2014 11:12:33 GMT -5
The moral of vectisfabber's story: deliberately run over little waifs taunting motor vehicles! That is the individual opinion of Mr. vectisfabber and not one endorsed by Abbeyrd's Beatles Page Message Board II! Good story, vect-dawg, but for liability reasons, the Board must distance itself from it.  I didn't know that the Abbey Road Cam had sound but you hear that poor woman screaming and then sobbing. That was awful. I witnessed an accident like that once with about the same aftermath, the person was not killed but had some internal injuries. It was awful, watching that video was awful. I bet the driver fled. But he/she is on camera! |
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Post by debjorgo on Nov 10, 2014 18:20:28 GMT -5
It's hard to tell for certain but isn't the guy with the striped leg the jogger that runs out of frame just before the accident? You're right, that is the jogger. The driver is out of there. |
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Post by theman on Nov 10, 2014 22:50:34 GMT -5
I think the driver is in a load of trouble.
1. Even though the woman does come a bit from out of nowhere to sprint across the "walk", she enters it before the car reaches it. Would love for our Londoner friends to weigh in, but everything I've seen re: the Abbey Road crosswalk suggests that pedestrians have the right of way.
2. If the driver did take off, I'm sure that authorities will be able to capture a clearer photo of the license plate!
Wonder if this story will get any wide spread public attention? I have to admit that I'm fascinated to learn about the outcome of this incident.
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Post by stavros on Nov 11, 2014 17:23:51 GMT -5
There is something not quite right about this video.
Firstly according to the Daily Mail (not the most reliable source as many Brits will know)
The "victim" appears to be walking at a slow pace until she gets within about 5 feet of the crossing and then breaks into a sprint. She even appears to be trying to collide with the vehicle rather than avoid it's path.
It all appears rather odd.
The Highway code in Britain states that pedestrians :
Make of that what you will. But this is not 'normal' behaviour when crossing a road in a busy London (or any British) suburb.
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