LOS ANGELES, CA — An aerial gondola that would shuttle passengers between Union Station and Dodger Stadium got one step closer to reality Thursday when the project cleared a major regulatory hurdle at the Metro Board of Directors meeting.
Now that the regional Metro board has approved the project’s environmental impact report, the project will need to be OK’d by the city, Caltrans and state parks officials. If those clearances are approved, the project will go back to Metro for construction approvals, according to officials. But it’s nearly certain to face plenty of legal challenges along the way.
The contentious project calls for the construction of a 1.2-mile gondola with stations at Union Station, Los Angeles State Historic Park and Dodger Stadium. It would run above Chinatown, Mission Junction, Elysian Park and Solano Canyon.
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The project was proposed in 2018 by former Dodgers owner Frank McCourt, who formed a partnership called Aerial Rapid Transit Technologies to fund the environmental impact report and preliminary design process. McCourt Global handed the project off to another entity, Zero Emission Technologies, which would be responsible for building, financing and operating the gondola.
Metro is providing no money for the project.
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The Metro board gave the environmental clearance on an 11-0 vote, with LA County Supervisor Janice Hahn abstaining. The board also approved a plan for 31 conditions that would be imposed on the developer — meant to offset the burden of housing-cost increases in Chinatown — which was co-authored by County Supervisor Hilda Solis and Mayor Karen Bass.
“I’m happy for Union Station property to be leveraged to address public traffic concerns, but it should not be used to enrich private interests. What this provision does is ensure that the leveraging of public resources is used to address the region’s most pressing public need — and that is affordable housing,” Solis said.
The plan includes free rides for Chinatown residents, a regional bus program that would compete with the gondola for riders, a fund for residents displaced by housing costs and a restriction on future development of the stadium parking lot. Opponents believe the primary reason McCourt is pursing the project is to eventually redevelop the massive stadium parking lots with housing and retail, the Los Angeles Times reported.
The environmental impact report noted major construction noise and vibration would occur. Some cables and cabins would pass over private properties, sparking concerns over privacy. Traffic lanes would be closed during parts of the construction phase as well, which would require a detailed plan outlining street closures, lights and detours.
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On top of concerns about the environment, quality of life and gentrification, opponents say there is no guarantee taxpayers won’t be stuck with the bill for the project, which they say is closer to $500 million for construction, and an annual $8 million to $10 million for maintenance and operations.
Supporters say the project could remove as many as 3,000 cars from neighborhood streets and the Harbor (110) Freeway before and after Dodgers games, leading to a net reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.
Two years ago, a report published by the UCLA Mobility Lab found the gondola would “reduce traffic on major roads around Dodger Stadium on the night of a sold-out game, but the impact would likely be very limited,” removing about 608 cars.
City Councilwoman Eunisses Hernandez, who represents the First District, which encompasses Chinatown and the area where the gondola would be set up, has come out against the project.
“I’m here to ask you to stand with community members and reject an unsolicited project that will require the time and resources of multiple agencies, not to mention public land and airspace in order to stand up for a for-profit, untested gondola that will not solve the problems that our community faces,” Hernandez told the directors.
Following the vote, the Los Angeles Parks Alliance announced its intentions to file a lawsuit under state environmental law and will ask the court to throw out the gondola is “fatally flawed” final environmental impact report.
City News Service contributed to this report
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