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Crowds of tourists shut down Sydney street in clamour to take selfies with spectacular Jacaranda flowers

Traffic blocked along the road in Kirribilli as people rush to take images with blossoming trees

Caroline Mortimer
Sunday 05 November 2017 14:42 GMT
Jacaranda trees cause traffic versus tourist conflict in Sydney

Tourists have descended on a unique Sydney street to take pictures with a canopy of bright purple flowers.

The Jacaranda flowers, which bloom for six weeks during the Australian summer, are out in force in McDougall Street in the neighbourhood of Kirribilli.

Local residents said they have seen hundreds of tourists flocking to the street to take pictures with trees bearing the flower.

They warn that the floral fans are now causing traffic problems and are calling on North Sydney Council to put proper plans in place for next year.

The chair of a residents’ group, Jillian Christie, told the Sydney Daily Telegraph: ““It’s difficult to drive there without hitting a tourist. They are out in the middle of the road.

“We all love it and we are understanding but we don’t want the tourists hurt.”

Six women hold the jacaranda flower in McDougall Street in Kirribilli, Sydney

She has called for an official jacaranda festival to be organised and for the street to be made one-way for the six weeks the flowers are in bloom or have a small section closed completely to traffic.

A spokesman for the council said they were aware of the increasing popularity of the flowers and the problems they were causing.

Visitors pose for photographs on McDougall Street in November 2016

She said: “The feasibility and costs of a traffic management plan and a jacaranda festival are being considered for the future”.

“In the meantime, as McDougall Street is a public road, pedestrians and motorists should observe the road rules at all times.”

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