New Ballpark Parking Plan Strikes Out

"If the 1984 Olympics was Los Angeles' great traffic triumph, then the Dodgers' 2007 opening day was a tough defeat.

Tempers flared, cars had near-misses and some people said they waited 90 minutes just to get out of the Dodger Stadium parking lot Monday afternoon. Fans said some parking attendants were missing in action.

Dodger officials acknowledged Tuesday that some attendants did leave their posts because they felt they could do nothing for the fans, who were becoming increasingly angry and aggressive.

"They were in an uncomfortable situation where they couldn't be helpful and they were really hearing it from the fans," said Camille Johnston, the Dodgers' senior vice president of communications."

"Traffic and urban planning experts, however, said fans need to give the parking policy more time.

"Longtime Dodger fans have systems they've worked out," said Richard Willson, professor of urban and regional planning at Cal Poly Pomona. "They're used to strategically choosing parking spaces in this first-come, first-served method. You can't expect introducing a new system to work perfectly the first day."

Zoned parking was designed to avoid the free-for-all at the stadium parking lot in which fans drove in from various entrances and pretty much parked where they wanted. Under the new system, workers using large red flags filter cars from the stadium's four gates into specified parking areas. The Dodgers say the system will improve flow. But many fans said it caused gridlock outside the stadium gates Monday - a ripple effect that clogged several freeways and major boulevards.

Willson said zoned parking is in line with current thinking on how large parking lots should be managed. Most new parking lots are designed to direct drivers to specific, empty spaces, eliminating the need to shop around for the best spot. That extra driving within the parking lot often causes needless congestion, he said."