Frank McCourt wants to sell you a ride in the sky, but Los Angeles doesn't need another expensive tourist attraction masquerading as transit. The proposed aerial gondola from Union Station to Dodger Stadium is a flashy, high-tech distraction from what fans actually want. We want to get to the game without sitting in two hours of gridlock or paying for a flight over the neighborhood. The solution isn't hovering over Chinatown in a glass box. The solution is a dedicated, green, and safe walking path that connects the heart of the city to the Ravine.
If you've ever tried to walk to Dodger Stadium, you know it's a nightmare. You’re forced to navigate narrow, broken sidewalks alongside cars screaming up Sunset Boulevard or Vin Scully Avenue. It’s loud. It’s hot. It feels like the city is actively trying to stop you from using your own feet. McCourt’s Los Angeles Aerial Rapid Transit (LA ART) project claims it will take 3,000 cars off the road every hour. Maybe. But it also costs roughly $500 million to build. Think about what that money could do if we invested it in the ground instead of the air.
The Problem With the Gondola Pipe Dream
The gondola isn't about moving people efficiently. It’s about control. By funneling fans into a private transit system, the project keeps the experience bottled up. It bypasses the local businesses in Echo Park and Chinatown. It hovers over residents’ backyards in Solano Canyon, stripping away their privacy for the sake of a ten-minute ride. Neighborhood groups like the Stop the Gondola coalition have been vocal about this for years. They aren't just being NIMBYs. They’re pointing out that this project serves the interests of a billionaire developer more than the community.
Building a giant cable system creates a permanent scar on the skyline of one of our most historic areas. Once those towers go up, they aren't coming down. And let’s talk about capacity. While 3,000 people per hour sounds like a lot, a stadium that holds 56,000 people needs more than a slow-moving bucket in the sky. If 10% of the crowd decides to walk because there’s a beautiful, shaded, and safe path, you’ve already outperformed the gondola without the massive electrical bill.
Turning the Ravine Into a Walkable Landmark
Imagine leaving Union Station and stepping onto a wide, tree-lined promenade. Instead of dodging traffic, you’re walking through a linear park. This isn't some radical, untested idea. Cities around the world use "green links" to move massive amounts of people to sporting venues. Look at the Olympic Way in London or the approach to many European soccer stadiums. They prioritize the pedestrian because it works.
A real walking path would involve widening the sidewalks on College Street and Alpine Street. It would mean planting hundreds of native California oaks and sycamores to provide a "shade canopy" that drops the temperature by ten degrees on those brutal July day games. It would mean better lighting, clear signage, and maybe even some public art that celebrates the history of the Dodgers and the communities that were displaced to build the stadium.
We can't ignore that history. Chavez Ravine was a vibrant neighborhood before it was cleared. A walking path allows for a moment of reflection and a connection to the land that a gondola simply skips over. It makes the journey part of the game-day experience rather than a hurdle to clear.
Why Ground Level Infrastructure Wins Every Time
High-tech transit solutions often fail because they’re too rigid. If the gondola breaks down, you’re stuck in a cabin 100 feet in the air. If a walking path gets crowded, you just walk a little slower or take a side street. Ground-level improvements are adaptable. They benefit the person going to the game, but they also benefit the grandmother walking to the grocery store in Chinatown or the student biking to school.
- Cost Efficiency: Painting a bike lane and widening a sidewalk costs a fraction of a cable car system.
- Maintenance: Concrete and trees don't require high-tech sensors and specialized mechanics to stay operational.
- Health: Encouraging thousands of fans to get their steps in before a Dodger Dog is just good policy.
- Local Economy: Pedestrians stop at bars. They buy water at corner stores. They eat at the local cafes. People in gondolas just wave as they pass by.
The Dodgers already have the Dodger Stadium Express bus. It’s a great service, but it’s still stuck in the same traffic as everyone else most of the time. By creating a dedicated pedestrian and bike corridor, you give people a choice that doesn't rely on an engine.
Infrastructure That Actually Serves the Public
The city and Metro should stop playing footsie with private developers and start listening to the people who live here. Frank McCourt has a complicated legacy in this town, to put it mildly. Entrusting the future of stadium access to a private entity that prioritizes "spectacle" over "utility" is a mistake we’ve made too many times in LA.
We need to push for the Dodger Stadium Greenway. This would be a multi-modal path that links the Los Angeles State Historic Park directly to the stadium gates. It would create a loop of green space that makes the entire area more breathable. We’re talking about a permanent improvement to the city’s bones, not a shiny toy that might be obsolete or too expensive to maintain in twenty years.
When you look at the successful transit shifts in other cities, they don't happen because of one big "miracle" project. They happen because of a thousand small improvements that make it easier to not drive. A walking path is the ultimate "low-tech, high-impact" solution. It’s time to stop looking at the clouds and start looking at the pavement beneath our feet.
If you want to see this change, start by showing up to the Metro board meetings. Let your council member know that you don't want a billionaire’s gondola; you want a sidewalk that doesn't crumble. We want a way to get to the Ravine that feels like Los Angeles, not a theme park.
Grab your walking shoes. Demand a path that belongs to the city, not a corporation.
