The Los Angeles City Council voted 12-1 on a resolution calling for the rejection of a proposed gondola project that would connect Dodger Stadium to the Union Station railroad hub.
The Associated Press reports the aerial tramway would cover about one mile and cost $500 million to construct. With its resolution vote, the City Council urged the LA County Metropolitan Transportation Authority to reject the project.
Although the project is being pitched as a privately funded endeavor designed to reduce vehicular traffic, critics argue the full financial plan for the system has not been released and it is unclear if taxpayers will have to foot the costs for any aspect of the construction and maintenance. Environmental concerns and traffic congestion created by the construction of the gondola system’s towers were also cited by opponents.
Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez, who introduced the resolution, said the project did not serve the needs of city residents.
“It is a private development scheme disguised as transportation, designed to raise the value of a billionaire’s parking lots, not to serve working Angelenos,” Hernandez said in a statement last month. “Our communities have said loudly and clearly that they do not want a project that threatens their homes, their park, their green space, and their quality of life.”
A full council vote on the project is expected next year. Mayor Karen Bass previously voiced support for the project but did not comment on the council’s resolution.
