A letter of intent signed by Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) and Aerial Rapid Transit Technologies (ARTT) marks the formal start of negotiations for the privately funded project to the home of the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team.
“This is a critical milestone in developing an innovative and exciting way for Dodgers fans to get to the game while reducing traffic,” said Metro CEO Phillip Washington. “For the sixth year in a row, the Dodgers have led Major League Baseball in attendance and we want to keep that streak going by finding ways to make it more convenient to reach the stadium.”
the letter of intent moves the project from the ‘unsolicited proposals’ evaluation stage to project development. Metro and ARTT will now negotiate to reach agreements on roles and responsibilities for planning and constructing the gondola.
“The Dodgers are excited that Metro is moving forward with new, innovative ways for people to get to and from Dodger Stadium,” said Tucker Kain, chief financial officer of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
“The signing of a letter of intent with Metro is a critical step in building the gondola between Union Station and Dodger Stadium,” said ARTT project manager, Martha Welborne. “This privately-funded, zero-emission transit line will have the capacity to move thousands of people every hour while reducing traffic and directly linking Dodger Stadium with the region’s public transit system. We look forward to working with Metro staff to get the aerial off the ground and fans flying to the stadium in 2022.”
Metro has run a free bus service to the stadium from Union Station since 2010. A second route between Harbor Gateway Transit Center in the South Bay and the ballpark was added in 2015.
Metro created its unsolicited proposals programme in 2016 to encourage innovation through partnerships with the private sector that would not have occurred through the agency’s normal procurement process.
“This proposal is precisely the kind of out-of-the-box thinking we envisioned when we set up our unsolicited proposals process,” said Metro chief innovation officer Joshua Schank. “By allowing potential partners to come to us with ideas and solutions, Metro has positioned itself to tap into the creativeness and ingenuity of private sector innovation.”
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