Contentious Dodger Stadium gondola project faces crucial step Thursday

Austin Turner
·2 min read
6

The Metro Board of Directors will meet Thursday to consider approving a the environmental impact report connected to a controversial transit project that would connect Dodger Stadium to downtown Los Angeles.

The project proposal links the stadium to Union Station and Chinatown at Los Angeles State Historic Park via a suspended aerial gondola system funded by Frank McCourt and his son, Drew. Frank owned the Los Angeles Dodgers from 2004 to 2012. L.A. Metro would plan the logistics under the current plan.

L.A. Metro says the gondola could transport up to 5,000 people per hour each direction on game days in a 1.2-mile journey that takes about seven minutes — though many see it as a “tourist attraction” rather than a reliable transit system.

  • The proposed aerial rapid transit gondola system from Union Station to Dodger Stadium is seen in a mockup provided by Metro.
    The proposed aerial rapid transit gondola system from Union Station to Dodger Stadium is seen in a mockup provided by Metro.
  • A rendering of the Dodger Stadium gondola landing is seen in an image provided by Aerial Rapid Transit Technologies LLC.
    A rendering of the Dodger Stadium gondola landing is seen in an image provided by Aerial Rapid Transit Technologies LLC.
  • A KTLA map shows the proposed gondola line over Chinatown.
    A KTLA map shows the proposed gondola line over Chinatown.

Supporters of the system tout its zero-emission capabilities and its ability to cut down on traffic concerns on Dodgers’ game days.

Officially known as Los Angeles Aerial Rapid Transit, the project has seen rabid opposition from residents whose homes will be underneath and nearby the proposed pathway of the gondola. A local group dubbed the Stop The Gondola Coalition has blasted the Metro and the McCourts for a supposed lack of transparency surrounding the project.

“The construction price alone is likely to be $500 million, and even more money will be needed for ongoing maintenance and repairs,” a section of the coalition’s website reads. “History has shown that these projects always run past schedule, go way over budget, and leave taxpayers stuck with a huge bill.”

The advocacy group instead encourages public officials to look at enhancing stadium shuttles in order to quell traffic concerns on game days. The trek to Chavez Ravine has notoriously been a pain to baseball fans throughout the Southland with a lack of public transit options to get to the ballpark.

If the environmental impact report is approved, the project would then move to public officials in the form of the L.A. City Council and Parks and Recreation Department.

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