Letters to the Editor: Frank McCourt’s gondola is a phony solution for Dodger Stadium traffic
To the editor: I generally agree with your editorial positions on climate and the environment. But you totally whiffed in supporting Frank McCourt’s gondola to Dodger Stadium.
You bought the proponents’ claims uncritically. The gondola is a gimmick. It will not significantly affect traffic, pollution or greenhouse gas emissions. There are better solutions.
Its only purpose is to unlock McCourt’s potential to develop a massive retail, entertainment, hotel and luxury housing complex on the stadium parking lots. And that will in turn increase traffic year-round.
The fact that the final environmental impact report does not analyze this obviously foreseeable impact is illegal under the California Environmental Quality Act. You should know that. It will also illegally take land and airspace from Los Angeles State Historic Park in Chinatown.
We’re all going to have to get much better at recognizing phony solutions to our very real problems. And we’re going to need your help.
Jon Christensen, Venice
The writer is a founding member of LA Parks Alliance, a group that opposes the Dodger Stadium gondola.
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To the editor: With L.A. Mayor Karen Bass and others attaching certain conditions to their support for the gondola, the question should be, who profits?
While this proposal is sold as lightening game-day street traffic to Dodger Stadium, the reality will be far different. This project will profit McCourt if he develops the stadium parking lots with retail and housing.
The new aerial tram will also adversely affect people living beneath it. Imagine owning a home along the route, and all year long, the skies are no longer clear. Rather, they’ll be filled with individuals headed toward the stadium or new shopping malls.
This issue raises far more questions about ownership of the vacant blue skies than it answers. Where are the protections for those living beneath projects such as this?
Kathryn Louyse, Glendale
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To the editor: The capacity of the proposed Gondola (5,000 riders per hour) means it would take up to 10 hours to bring everyone to Dodger Stadium for a game if they all were to use the gondola (highly unrealistic).
But it also means that if only 5,000 people use it for a game, many would wait up to an hour after the game is over to get a ride. They would get to Los Angeles Union Station faster if they walked.
Keith Price, Los Angeles
