LAist: Go Metro To A Dodgers Game

Malingering

Thu, 26 Jul 2007 11:39:08 -0800

I try not pay for Dodger Stadium parking, otherwise I'd go broke. But take Metro? You've got to be joking. Taking Metro to the stadium is okay. I can live with that one. But no way in hell would I take it home. Being a 100lb small female who carries around cameras and attends games alone, I do not under any circumstances feel safe walking a mile from Dodger Stadium at 10:30 at night. I've already had my car broken into when I parked on the street just outside of the parking gate. I've seen at least 10 cars broken into and vandalized. I've been harassed and had groups of 6 or more drunk large guys try to follow me. There are drunk fans chugging and pissing in the bushes in all directions for about a 1 mile radius around the stadium, which is incredibly poorly lit. There are people living in the vacant and abandoned homes on Stadium Way who have no problem robbing you. As much as I hate Dodger Stadium parking, I value my life more. Not to mention going home. An hour and 15 minutes when the game lets out around 10 and then you have to walk down the hill (20 minutes) and wait for a bus (20 minutes) gets you home after midnight, which sucks when you're waking up at 6am to go to work.

calwatch

Tue, 24 Jul 2007 23:03:15 -0800

And you get to wave at all of the suckers stuck in line paying the $15, some of whom drive themselves to the game. I'd rather take a soda and a Dodger Dog with the $15, thanks. Or, walk by at 7:30 and get a ticket for below face value.

fredcamino

Tue, 24 Jul 2007 17:38:21 -0800

Guest #13- "Gee, you don't bother to indicate what the cost is for going carless. More? Less? The same? And you seriously neglect the convenience of being able to leave in the top of the 5th if you have an emergency. Lastly, you neglected to mention the most convenient, and least impactful method - car pooling." You seem to miss the point. This article is about how to get to Dodger Stadium without a car. It's not a cost comparison, it's not even a car vs. transit rant... it's simply, how to do it without a car. Whether it works for you is up to you. I don't have a car, my close friends don't have cars, so car-pooling is not an option, plus the bus is easier and funner for me. May not be the same for you, but now you know how to go about it if you wish to.

CalmDragon

Tue, 24 Jul 2007 16:36:45 -0800

My blue and white mini zips my friends and I right in. There needs to be a metro line under the parking lot there before I'd take it. The gold line came so close through chinatown too.

LA Bus Girl

Tue, 24 Jul 2007 16:24:07 -0800

So, how 'bout them Dodgers...

guest

Tue, 24 Jul 2007 15:25:25 -0800

guest 13- you sure are making quite a lot of judgments for no reason. does it cost more or less? well, that probably depends on where you're coming from. you going 2 miles to the game, or 60? that would make a difference. do you drive a hummer, or a civic? do you already have a year long metro pass, or do you need to pay a couple dollars for a day pass? All questions that metro rider can't really answer for every person reading it. In general though, it's my understanding that riding public transportation is much more cost effective than driving a car. and you say "lastly" he forgot to mention car pooling. do you even understand what's going on? he's a guest editor who blogs on METRO RIDER. He's trying to be most helpful in the ways of the metro. get a clue.

guest

Tue, 24 Jul 2007 15:18:44 -0800

even better, make it a fifteen minute walk and pregame at the shortstop or little joy. if you're drunk enough you won't feel the burn of the steep hills.

guest

Tue, 24 Jul 2007 14:55:08 -0800

Gee, you don't bother to indicate what the cost is for going carless. More? Less? The same? And you seriously neglect the convenience of being able to leave in the top of the 5th if you have an emergency. Lastly, you neglected to mention the most convenient, and least impactful method - car pooling. But, whatever.

Militant Angeleno

Tue, 24 Jul 2007 14:36:56 -0800

11: The Militant has some inside connections on the Dodger organization. Talks with LADOT have been in the works since 2005, including re-routing certain existing DASH lines to feed into Elysian Park (the park itself is public (city) property and serve the stadium, but again, it's just...talk. There is considerable resistance on behalf of the McCourts to have working transit access to the Stadium. The 2004 Friday night shuttle was considered by many a token offering by McCourt which was designed to fail. Remember that before owning a Los Angeles baseball franchise, McCourt made millions in Boston by running a parking lot company.

LA Bus Girl

Tue, 24 Jul 2007 13:12:45 -0800

My advice, is, if you really want a shuttle, call the hell out of LADOT and ask why they don't have one. I'm just saying, since they handle the parking ad Dodger Stadium, and don't have the infrastructure at LADOT hq to deal with multiple complaint calls...

Militant Angeleno

Tue, 24 Jul 2007 12:39:37 -0800

3: Next time that happens, then kindly get off your bike and walk up the hill. Then, when they're not looking, get back on your bike and pedal that sucker!

Militant Angeleno

Tue, 24 Jul 2007 12:38:02 -0800

If you're not willing to walk up the hill, then you don't deserve to call yourself a true Dodger fan. A true Dodger fan wouldn't let anything hinder them from worship at the sacred Ravine. Besides, after the game (and I mean after the game since there is no need to leave early), the walk is an easy downhill stroll!

guest

Tue, 24 Jul 2007 12:32:03 -0800

I have gone to a game without a car, from Hollywood. We took a train and bus, it was fun. Walked up those "steep" (hahaha) hills just fine.

guest

Tue, 24 Jul 2007 11:52:42 -0800

def worth busing and walking. i've even got my brother and friends, avid drivers and sports fans, to take the bus to the games. and its true that it adds a good deal of camaraderie to a pre-game feel; walking and talking baseball or the upcoming football season. all while someone drives you. then the walk, which is by no means tough, guest 3, is great. like militant said and metroriders preach, LA has great weather 99.9 percent of the time yet people refuse to get out of their cars. suck it up and walk up the hill, it's really not that big of a deal.

nomad

Tue, 24 Jul 2007 11:35:50 -0800

I was just wondering the other day where I can catch the dodger shuttle. What? they don't have one... i can't believe that. i'll probably give this route a try though..thanks.

fredcamino

Tue, 24 Jul 2007 11:29:02 -0800

Guest #1- Are you kidding me?? Those hills aren't steep at all. If you are not disabled or have trouble walking for reasons other than laziness (it's certainly not a good trip for the physically handicapped), then it is absolutely a 10-minute walk. I just did it last Friday and timed it and everything. 10-minutes at a slow-to-moderate pace. Guest #3- That's strange, I had a friend bike up there last month with no problem, but it doesn't surprise me. Like I said, that place is designed for cars and nothing else.

Militant Angeleno

Tue, 24 Jul 2007 11:16:48 -0800

The Militant has walked those hills, they aren't that steep. Then again, the combat-trained physique of the Militant is somewhat superior to they typical lazy (non-militant) Angeleno. The Militant has even biked there and it's not such a big deal. You say you like living in Los Angeles "because of the weather," yet you refuse to walk. All logic has been suspended. The Dodger shuttle that ran in the 2004 season was designed to fail; it only ran on Friday night games.

guest

Tue, 24 Jul 2007 11:13:22 -0800

I tried to ride my bike there on Sunday and they wouldn't actually let me ride on the premises! They actually made me get off of my bike and WALK it up the hill. Then when I asked the ticket people what the official policy of the Dodgers is when it comes to riding bikes to the stadium they lookeed at me like I had 6 heads!!!

Zach Behrens

Tue, 24 Jul 2007 11:13:02 -0800

I love the steep hills!

guest

Tue, 24 Jul 2007 11:05:06 -0800

Whatever. You are kinda fudging the facts there. We tried to go carless to the game a couple months back and you really can't. Sure you can take that bus you are talking about but that "10 minute walk" is up two steep hills. They used to have a great Dodger shuttle from Union Station but apparently it was too popular so they discontinued it. Nice of them to do.