Wednesday, April 11, 2007 |
No, Not More On Parking?
One consequence of the Dodgers' new parking system could be the endangerment of the Union 76 gas station beyond center field, a landmark as old as Dodger Stadium.Well, just as soon as people stop driving cars that need gasoline, sure.Although a line formed 25 deep for the women's restroom inside the 45-year-old station about an hour before Monday's home opener, business wasn't booming as usual at the gas pump.
Station operator Chuck Mercier said his station served about 60 cars Monday, down from the 80 to 100 vehicles it had served per day in years past. Surveying the trickle of vehicles driving past his station — on a day that 56,000 fans packed Dodger Stadium — Mercier said, "They've pretty much closed me off."
Mercier said he had e-mailed Dodgers officials about his concerns and hoped that they would try to work with him to ensure the survival of a landmark that has been featured on the Travel Channel as the only gas station on the premises of a major league baseball stadium.
"I would love it to stay there and I would love to have it accessible to the motoring public to give them the service," Mercier said. "There is a possibility that someday it won't be there."
Look, here's the deal. I go to Angel Stadium, and I park offsite; I get in almost instantly, and get out in a half hour, an hour absolutely positively tops (and on light attendance games, almost as easily as I got in). The park even offers nearby rail service from Amtrak and Metrolink. Dodger Stadium offers... headaches getting in and getting out under good circumstances, though many more getting out. To Josh Rawitch, and whoever else is reading this, I can only say: the Dodgers are not making it likely they'll break four million attendance with these changes. And they're making it very easy for me to forego any trips to Dodger Stadium this year; Helen and I have already talked about giving up that holiest of holies, the Cubs series.
Look: Get Frank McCourt out front to apologize about the screwups and then actually do something about them. I'm giving this until the end of the month. SOSG will be at the park tonight; I expect a full report.
Labels: dodger stadium, dodgers, parking
If the parking situation doesn't get better, Rob and I will happily avoid *all* Dodger home games this year. That's down from 10 to 20 games per season the last few years. I just get really, really irked at paying 50% more for *worse* parking.
Every new thing he does turns to crap. The parking, the lower level seating, etc etc. Still hasn't brought in a power hitter.
The guy is a joke, he's laughing his way to the bank as the lemmings continue to pour in.
: 4/11/2007 01:23:00 PMIf I thought he were incorrigible, I'd close this blog and start an Angels-only one. But maybe not. It could still be interesting to see how the pile burns to the ground, and Colletti has surprised me before, most recently with the 2006 postseason appearance that more or less came out of nowhere.
Ultimately, it's my humble opinion that one of the reasons the parking and traffic situation seems to have gone downhill over the past few years is the closing of the Scott Ave. gate, which was done to appease area residents who were fed up with drivers racing through their hilly neighborhood (and its narrow, pre-Stadium streets). There may be additional gates that were closed at the time as well.
I don't know how much of the problem is due to an inrease in the number of vehicles; although attendance has remained pretty constant over the past 20 years or so, my guess is the number of fans per vehicle has decreased. Also, so many people drive excessively large vehicles, it certainly can't help matters.
Once upon a time, there was regular RTD (now Metro) bus service into the stadium; I used it back in jr. high & high school, before I had a car. That has been discontinued. A DASH-type shuttle service from Union Station, as well as the Chinatown and Lincoln Heights Gold LIne stations would also help ease the traffic burden.
: 4/11/2007 01:47:00 PM : 4/11/2007 07:46:00 PMwhat traditions have you seen McCourt respect? The firing of Ross Porter, the move from Vero Beach, The expirement with "moneyball", the reduced roll of Nancy Bea, I can't think of any stone he has left unturned, other than not firing Vin or Tommy.
Am I missing something?
: 4/14/2007 09:33:00 PMI'm confused, should Dodger stadium offer rail service? They should build a train line to the stadium, like Gene Autry did with his two hands?
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