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San Francisco Chronicle book critic David Kipen is a native of Los Angeles and a fan of the Dodgers. He crossed jurisdictions to pen a piece in the LAT Sunday Opinion section warning prospective Dodgers owner Frank McCourt to keep the stadium sacred - and to open the parking lots to downtown commuters.
I have faith in McCourt, and for two reasons. First, I'm a Dodger fan. Without faith, what would be the point?Second, and more important, there's a way for McCourt to make a mint and still leave Dodger Stadium right where it belongs. It all comes down to this: What does downtown L.A. need much more than a ravine full of new condos? Easy parking at nonextortionate rates.
And what does Dodger Stadium have in abundance, 20 hours a day for 90 days a year, and around the clock for the other 275? Empty parking spaces, 16,000 of them, readily accessible from three freeways. Just think about the congestion that would take off downtown's many delightful one-way streets.
Speaking of downtown, in an LAT op-ed piece today Marjorie Gellhorn Sa'adah advises people thinking of buying into the downtown-living trend to realize they are moving into a non-stop movie set -- and the film crews take precedence.
Trendy tenants be forewarned. With your city views and granite countertops comes this: In your first year here, there will be permits written for 7,500 days of filming in two City Council districts that contain downtown. That's 20 years of filming in one year, which is exactly what it will feel like.You will complain, which will get you elected building captain, like you need a purgatory do-over of student council.
You will chuck your Thomas Bros. Guide and instead carry the L.A. Garment & Citizen, a free local paper that lists the week's filming locations...It all hinges on your willingness to live with hovering choppers, the sound of gunfire, Klieg lights in your bedroom window.
Update 1:40 p.m.: Also, the Downtown News runs a piece on the five-year anniversary of Tom Gilmore's Old Bank District revival, credited by many with juicing the residential trend downtown.
I fear, only slightly, that McCourt sees the Dodgers not for the team but for the land. He is, after all, a real estate developer. It would be an awful thing to relocate the Dodgers to antoher venue. I would, however, understand taking a small chunk of the lots and giving it over to housing. There is soooo much parking there, he could deck a small section so as not loose total spots, and build out condos for $$$.
The downtown shuttle, hmmm, yep, as mentioned, not exactly a straight shot to downtown. If we were building a dreamscape, I'd say put in a rail link down to Union Station via Chinatown station/Gold Line route(one seat, don't make me transfer). That way it's easy to get to games via transit, too. Ah but that's a fantasy.
Let's hope for good things from McCourt. While Fox blew the sports team aspect of it, at least they did well for the stadium.
Posted by: dodgersrule at November 18, 2003 01:55 AM
of LA Observed
As someone who drives past Dodger Stadium nearly every day on the way to work, I would think a park and ride would only be feasible if there were dedicated lanes for buses.
A lot of people (like me) go through the Dodger Stadium area as a short cut. To get to Downtown, a bus would either have to get on the Pasadena Freeway or hack it out through Chinatown. It's not easy.
Posted by: Bob Timmermann at November 17, 2003 10:55 AM