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It’s former Dodgers owner, Frank McCourt’s pet project to build an aerial gondola between Union Station and Dodger Stadium. Metro LA has entered into a deal with McCourt’s company Los Angeles Aerial Rapid Transit (LA ART) without any real public input or before conducting a study to determine the best way to alleviate traffic to Dodger Stadium.
If approved, the gondola will be built along a 1.2-mile route and will involve the construction of huge towers on public land being gifted to Frank McCourt. Historic Union Station, Chinatown, the Elysian Park neighborhoods, and the commuters on the Harbor/Pasadena Freeway will have cabins the size of shipping containers flying over them. Construction of the gondola could also clog up traffic in the neighborhoods surrounding Dodger Stadium for years.
Construction of the Gondola is estimated to cost $500 million; however, McCourt has never provided a financial plan. It’s unclear whether or not they will use tax dollars, so taxpayers could ultimately foot the bill for its construction or for things like ongoing maintenance and operations. What is Metro’s responsibility if there are cost overruns? Will taxpayers foot the bill or will there be an unfinished eyesore in LA’s historic neighborhoods?
In addition, research from the UCLA Mobility Lab found that the gondola does little to take cars off the road, it is likely to carry fewer passengers than LA ART claims and many will drive to Union Station to get on. It may make traffic worse in the communities that surround the ballpark.
Los Angeles doesn’t need or want Frank McCourt’s gondola. The community didn’t ask for this project, and opposition continues to grow. It’s a waste of time and resources. The proposed gondola is slated to fly 40 ft. over homes in Chinatown, and LA ART has failed to address legitimate concerns about safety and privacy.
Angelenos have different priorities than a gondola. We want safe and affordable public transportation, more affordable housing, and a solution to the homeless crisis. Our public officials should focus on those issues instead of wasting public resources on a gondola nobody wants. A better, easier and more viable solution is to enhance the existing and popular Dodger Stadium Express with a more robust zero-emission shuttle bus system.
The proposed route begins in front of Los Angeles’ Union Station, cutting through and over a Metro railway line, the homes and businesses in the Chinatown community, the Los Angeles State Historic Park and the neighborhoods surrounding the ballpark. The proposed gondola is slated to fly less than 40 feet over homes and as low as 26 feet over LA State Historic Park.
Gigantic towers will be constructed along the 1.2-mile route, and flying cabins the size of shipping containers will be suspended over the surrounding neighborhoods and freeway. Construction could create significant traffic and safety issues for years.
Community members have largely been shut out from the planning process. In fact, local residents did not ask for this project to be built in our neighborhood.
Despite numerous requests for additional information about the safety, impacts and costs of the project, the developer has been unwilling to answer many important questions that community members should know. Even worse, the developer has required various organizations to sign non-disclosure agreements before they share any detailed information about the project.
There is no need to build a gondola since there is already a free shuttle system that takes people to Dodger Stadium from Union Station. So why would a billionaire spend millions of dollars on a project that is not going to pay for itself?
It’s no secret that Frank McCourt wants to develop the parking lots at Dodger Stadium. When he was owner of the Dodgers, he unveiled big plans to create a luxury entertainment development called “Next 50.” The gondola is just a means for him to develop the stadium parking lots and profit at our communities’ expense. Such a development will lead to more displaced local businesses and residents in Chinatown, Echo Park, Solano Canyon, La Loma and Bishop - who have already experienced tremendous gentrification.
Frank McCourt’s gondola is not a real transportation project, it's a private tourist attraction.
Taxpayers will likely have to pay for this project in one way or another. Since the LA Metro Transportation Authority is sponsoring it, it becomes a public project meaning the taxpayers are ultimately liable for it. For similar projects in other cities, taxpayer dollars have been needed to pay for cost overruns, maintenance and daily operations. Frank McCourt nearly bankrupted the Dodgers, do we really believe that he will pay for every single dime and cover every cost of this unnecessary project?
Let’s be clear. This is Frank McCourt’s pet project. In an apparent effort to distance himself from the project, McCourt “gifted” the gondola to a newly formed non-profit Zero Emissions Transit (ZET), an organization affiliated with Climate Resolve. Yet, ZET serves as the spokesperson for the project while McCourt remains silent.
No. Neither Frank McCourt Global nor Climate Resolve have ever built an aerial gondola system or have experience in the development of transit projects. To have an organization with no experience in this type of construction be given permission is unprecedented and completely against LA County rules.
It’s no accident that very few people know about this project. LA ART has engaged in limited community input likely hoping to get this gigantic project approved before anyone notices. But it’s not too late to stop this wasteful and unnecessary billionaire’s pet project!
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