Streetsblog Los Angeles

During the offseason, the Los Angeles Dodgers promised improved bicycle access and parking at Dodger Stadium as part of the stadium renovations  With CICLE and the Eastside Bike Club promoting their annual Dodgertown Bike Ride this Saturday, now seems to be as good a day as any to check in.

Photo: Baseball Pilgrimage

In 2008, Streetsblog completed a series on biking to Dodger Stadium that ended with sad results. Despite our pleas, the situation didn’t improve while the parking lot capitalist owned the team. With new leadership, would we see new results?

The answer is a profound “not yet.”

Streetsblog reader Tenney Hood tested the improved bicycle parking and found it lacking:

Although the bicycle parking map provided on the Dodgers official website shows bicycle parking at all of the Stadium entrances, these parking racks do not actually exist. I have asked many security guards at multiple games; the only rack any are aware of is on the Top Deck, which on the map is the bicycle rack in Parking Lot P. This in it of itself is a problem–I have to carry my bicycle up to the Top Deck, lock it, then walk back down to my own level to the enter the field. At the end of the game, I have to return to the Top Deck, against the traffic of thousands of people. Additionally, Stadium staff will not let you access the stairs or the elevator closest to the Top Deck, making this even more difficult.

Yikes, so there’s quite a bit of room between the Dodgers and their rivals in the bay who have a functioning bike valet system. Read more…

Ever since Streetsblog began publishing in Los Angeles, the Dodgers have been something of a punching bag in Streetsblog reports. Whether it’s their equating low cost parking with freedom, their lack of support for the Dodger Shuttle or their poor accomadations for cyclists; they’ve been something of an easy target. And Streetsblog didn’t even touch on the dangers of walking in the acres of parking surrounding the stadium.

But that hasn’t stopped Streetsbloggers from loving their Dodgers. And last weekend the Dodgers started to pay them back. Organized by Carlos Morales and the Eastside Bike Club, a pack of nearly 100 cyclists took a pleasant ride to Saturday’s 2-1 win over the Diamondbacks. LAPD’s Lieutenant Gordon Helper rode with the riders in a show of support for the first ever “Dodgertown Bike Ride.”

Our friend Elson Trinidad was part of the ride. Trinidad is part of the Dodgers Community Advisory Committee and a dedicated cyclist. As he’s done before, he made a short video of the event that captures the spirit of the ride and even includes some lovely Dodgers organ music.

Remember how to ride the bus? Photo:The Guardian

Getting to and from Dodger Stadium can be a nightmare.  Miles of gridlocked stop-and-go traffic snake out from the gates when the Dodgers are a hot ticket or a popular rival is in town.  Walking to the stadium is, at best, an uncomfortable experience as pedestrians are given the option of walking in a ditch or “sharing the road” with already irritated drivers.  The hearty cyclists who brave the hills to get to the ballpark are often mis-directed by clueless parking lot employees or invited to park their bicycle in the smoking section.

Any hope that the car culture status-quo could be shaken up by a new ownership group was squashed yesterday when it was revealed that the land surrounding Dodger Stadium, including its infamous parking lots, would be owned by outgoing owner Frank McCourt and “certain affiliates of the purchasers.”  This is bad news for lovers of transportation options for a couple of reasons.

The first is that when stadium lots are owned by the teams, the real goal is to maximize the revenue created by the lot.  That’s one reason teams such as the Mets and the Cubs have extensive advertising campaigns urging people to “Take the Train to the Game”  including commercial time on television, radio and in the ballpark.  That’s also why AEG is openly talking about bundling transit tickets with football tickets to Farmers Field to encourage transit use.  When lots are publicly owned, the goal of the team and stadium is to get people to and from the event as quickly and painlessly as possible to assure a good time.  When they’re owned by the team, the goal is to make as much money as possible, which means stifling transit options and making it uncomfortable to arrive by foot or by bicycle. Read more…

When the city won't help you, it's time to DIY. Photo: LA Eastsider

Last week, the news blog LA Eastsider reported on efforts of residents in Echo Park and other Eastside communities to fight back against Dodger fans that cruise through and park on residential streets.  Basically, faced with a city that hasn't been quick enough to help out, residents have taken to posting their own signs, barricades and even dressing as security guards to keep fans looking for free parking off their streets.

When I first saw the article, I wanted to repost it, but thought better of it.  In this city, DIY projects tend to get erased awfully quickly when someone shines the light on them.  Sure enough, when I checked back yesterday there was a note that many of the signs that were put up were taken down the same day the article posted.  Consider this Fletcher Bridge Redux.

Just as in the now-famous Fletcher Bridge incident, regular people are trying to protect themselves and their streets after he city turns a deaf ear to their concerns.  The Eastsider explains:

With City Hall and the Dodgers unable or unwilling to spend money on traffic and parking control measures that mean something, residents say they are on their own. "We are kind of left to do what we have to do," said the resident from Solano Canyon.

Of course, now the signs are down so the limited protection the community created for itself are now gone.  One of the commenters on Eastsider claims that the communities are working with the city and Eric Garcetti's office to try and come up with a long-term solution and I'll keep my eyes open for what's happening on those streets.

In the meantime, wouldn't it be nice if there were a transportation story involving the Dodgers that wasn't about car-culture run amok?

Photo from Union Station via JHVU/FlicR

The Los Angeles Dodgers, the same organization which refused to help fund bus service to the stadium and even mocked the service the nearly-broke City of Los Angeles provided at no-cost to them last season, found a new way to kick dirt in the eyes of its transit riding fans.  Via press release:

As the school season closes and spring turns into summer, the Los Angeles Dodgers will provide Free Parking in the general lots at Dodger Stadium for the three-game series June 16-18 versus the Oakland Athletics. Gates open at 5:10 p.m. and game times are 7:10 p.m...

..."This gesture is our latest initiative to help ensure that all of our fans can enjoy our National Pastime at Dodger Stadium," said Dodger CEO Jamie McCourt, who helped create the Commissioner's Fan Initiative at the beginning of this season. "With the conclusion of the school year, we want to make it even easier for families to spend their summer evenings with us."

Well, now it's official.  The Dodgers don't consider people that don't own cars part of their fan base.   For the record, the Dodgers parking lot fits 16,000 cars.  At $15 a pop, they are losing more revenue with this three day promotion to "all their fans" then they would have spent funding the bus service from Union Station to Dodger Stadium for the entire season.

...not green. Photo:eating grass/Flickr

Just in time for Opening Day, the Los Angeles Dodgers sent out a press release announcing their efforts to make people's experiences at the ballpark more "family-friendly."  Presuming, of course, that family owns a car.

After the Dodgers famously stiffed transit riders by refusing to lift a finger to continue transit bus service provided for free last season by the City of Los Angeles and then dissed the city's efforts as just "a few buses;" it's revealing to see the former Trolley Dodgers celebrating a flatlining of parking fees and new gameday "playbills" for each car coming into the stadium.

For anyone choosing to be car free yet still wants to root for an organization that spends over $20 million dollars for a left fielder but not $400,000 to provide bus service to the stadium for an entire season; as far as we know the bike racks are still located between Lot P and the Stadium.