LOS ANGELES — Take me out to the ball game! For many Dodgers fans, that usually requires getting into a car and driving to the stadium.
What You Need To Know
- According to its builders, Zero Emissions Transit, the LA Aerial Rapid Transit project or LA ART gondola system would cost roughly $900 million to build
- The gondolas would take fans from Union Station to Dodger Stadium in approximately 7 minutes, according to ZET
- Groups opposing the project say beyond privacy and noise concerns, the system is too costly and LA city leaders should increase bus service to the stadium instead
- Approval for the project is currently stalled in City Hall as council members wait to consider the results of a Dodger Stadium traffic study before taking the project up for a vote
Including season ticket holder, Doug Barrera.
“Well, I live in the valley, so driving to the game is pretty much the only option,” Barrera said.
But by the year 2028, Barrera could potentially get to Chavez Ravine by air. That’s if the LA Aerial Rapid Transit project, also known as the Dodger Stadium Gondola system, is approved for construction.
The project is currently stalled in City Hall, as council members wait to consider the results of a Dodger Stadium traffic study, before taking the project up for a vote.
“I might use it,” Berrara said. “I think anything to potentially cut down on traffic going to the stadium is probably a good idea.”
But not everyone agrees. Chinatown resident Phyllis Ling says the gondolas would be flying 20 feet above her home for 19 hours a day — creating noise and privacy concerns.
She’s worried that thousands of people would have a bird's-eye view of her backyard as she gardens — but more than that, she doesn’t think the system makes sense. She says though it’s marketed as privately funded, it’s too costly, and she suspects the project’s intention to eliminate cars from the road won’t come to fruition.
“We don’t really see how it will work out and alleviate traffic,” Ling said. “We also wonder how many people will just drive to the gondola and park in our neighborhoods and fly over us as a shortcut.”
Hilary Norton, a commissioner with the California Transportation Commission, and a volunteer board member for this project, says the system’s best feature is that it’s ADA friendly and allows passengers with disabilities to board and deboard in areas that are at grade — highly benefitting fans in wheelchairs and others with limited mobility.
She also says the goal with these gondolas is, in fact, to get fans out of their cars, and on to existing public transit, that connects to union station.
You don’t have to drive there,” Norton said. “You can take nearly all of the Metro’s rail services to Union Station, but you can also get on from the Chinatown station.”
Norton says this project is just one brush stroke in a brighter vision for LA’s future, as it gears up for the car-free 2028 Olympic games.
“As we’re creating access to international events that are supposed to be car free, I think people are going to be much more willing to travel to these events in new ways,” said Norton.’
And she hopes more Angelenos, like season-ticket holder Doug Barrera, are willing to get on board.
“It’ll be interesting to see whether it’s just a novelty or something that people will actually use a lot on game day,” said Barrera.
A question that won’t be answered unless the project is approved.