On Thursday, the Metro Board of Directors approved the environmental impact report for the gondola system connection Dodger Stadium and Union Station.
The project advanced forward following a unanimous vote, according to Los Angeles Times reporter Bill Shaikin.
Named the Los Angeles Aerial Rapid Transit, the gondola “would have a maximum capacity of approximately 5,000 people per hour per direction, and the travel time between Union Station and Dodger Stadium would be approximately seven minutes,” according to Metro.
Former Dodgers owner Frank McCourt proposed the private project.
Chance Menendez, an L.A. County resident, voiced his support for the gondola during the last Metro board meeting.
“Not only is it a great zero emission type of transport, I support public transportation in general,” he said.
A study by the UCLA Mobility Lab, however, said that the gondola project wouldn’t do much to reduce traffic and greenhouse gas emissions and take around 608 cars off the road as opposed to 3,000 cars, which LA ART claims.
Opponents of the project are also worried about the noise and possible impacts from construction and about the effects the project could have on Chinatown.
“I've lost countless nights of sleep over the last three years, worrying that I'll have to live with the noisy motors at the Broadway junction, pulling gondola cabins past my house every 23 seconds, 19 hours a day, 365 days a year,” one woman said during the meeting.
If the Metro Board of Directors approves the environmental impact report, it would not be the final say on the project. The city of L.A. and Cal/OSHA would also have to approve the project.
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