Things are a little hectic out there on the roads and freeways in Echo Park – tonight is James Loney Bobblehead night, and the fans go crazy for those promotional items. It’s also game two of three in the series against the Giants, which means the Scott Avenue gate will likely be open for exiting traffic.
Stay clear of Stadium Way, Sunset Blvd., and, well, all the other roads and freeways. Surprisingly, the 110 doesn’t look that bad! Go Dodgers!
Tweets started coming in not too long ago about road closures and traffic building up on Sunset Blvd., and The Eastsider LA is now reporting that police are searching for a gunman following a possible shooting.
Photo via resident and business owner Justin Warwick
The photo above, taken by Warwick owner Justin Warwick, shows that LAPD are diverting traffic on Sunset Blvd.
In addition, ABC7 is reporting the following:
LAPD officers were on the scene of a reported shooting near Echo Park on Sunset Blvd. Thursday afternoon.
The shooting occurred on the 1300 block of West Sunset Blvd. at about 4:13 p.m. Thursday, according to the LAPD.
One person has been transported by firefighters.
No suspects were arrested.
Police did not immediately release further details.
Los Angeles Police were investigating the incident.
We’ll keep you posted! Follow us on Twitter!
UPDATES:
LA NOW reports that one man at the pot dispensary, The Higher Path, where the robbery took place was killed, while another is in the hospital. The Echo Park robbery occured at around 4:15 pm, and hours later at 9:15 pm another dispensary was robbed El Centro Avenue in Hollywood, leaving another employee dead. The LAPD have not yet determined whether or not the two events are linked.
The much-anticipated Dodgers versus Yankees series starts tomorrow, and the Stadium is preparing for the crowds and some unusual start times. Neighborhood Relations Manager Noel Pallais just sent out an email to community members about some of the steps the stadium is taking to “minimize the impact on our neighbors”:
Dear Neighbor:
As has been our commitment to inform the surrounding community of upcoming events, we have listed below updated information for games to be played this weekend at Dodger Stadium against the New York Yankees. Please note that in an effort to minimize the impact on our neighbors due to the starting times being different than our regularly scheduled weekend games we are working very closely with the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) and the City of Los Angeles Department of Transportation (DOT); additionally, as was the case during this past Opening Day and last year’s National League Division and Championship Series, all of our parking gates will open 2 ½ hrs prior to the start of the games:
Friday, June 25th – 7:10PM
Parking gates will open at 4:40PM and Stadium gates will open 5:10PM.
Saturday, June 26th – 4:10PM
Parking gates will open at 1:40PM and Stadium gates will open by 2:10PM.
Sunday, June 27th – 5:05PM
Parking gates will open at 2:40PM and Stadium gates will open by 3:10 pm.
Do note that for all three games LAPD and DOT are treating this weekend series as 3 separate Opening Days. To this end, DOT will have an earlier deployment of officers in an effort to keep arteries open for community members to access their neighborhoods. Additionally, LAPD will, also schedule an earlier deployment, as well as deploy an increased numbers of officers, to proactively patrol the surrounding community, especially the area in and around the park. Also, the City of Los Angeles will enact street a closure for Lilac Terrace between Stadium Way and Lookout Way from 12:00AM on Friday, June 25th and continuing to 11:00PM on Sunday, June 27th for staging purposes and game preparations. During this closure emergency access will be maintained at all times.
Also, we are actively encouraging all fans to arrive early, carpool and take the Dodger Stadium Express shuttle from Union Station to help alleviate parking congestion. We recently sent out a press release that noting that the Dodger Stadium Express picks up fans at the Patsaouras Bus Plaza adjacent to the east portal of Union Station and drops them off in the parking lot behind left/center field.
Finally, since safety is of paramount importance, all necessary traffic controls will be in place. Additionally, (323) 224-1363 is the 24-hour number you should use to report any security concerns.
The Scott gate will be open for exiting traffic for all games. I’ve asked Noel to see if DOT will provide assistance on the corner of Sargent and Scott Avenue at the stop sign to help with the traffic.
As for fans – don’t expect to walk up on game-day to get tickets. The Dodgers didn’t sell individual tickets to the Yankees series, but reserved tickets for fans buying season seats or packages of 14, 21 or 28 games. It looks like you can get tickets on StubHub, but they won’t come as cheap as all the other games (right now, top deck prices are around $27.00 – ouch!).
I’ll be happily enjoying the game from home or at El Compadre myself. See you there!
On Saturday, April 24 started at 7:00 pm, Dodger Stadium is hosting the Joel Osteen Ministries event called the “Night of Hope.” Noel Pallais, Neighborhood Relations Manager for Dodger Stadium, sent out some details on how the Stadium will handle the traffic and timeline:
As it turns out, the Scott Avenue gate will in fact be open for outgoing traffic, and while Noel’s announcement indicates there will be Local Access Only barricades, it hasn’t been confirmed whether or not there will be traffic officers around to help the flow of traffic at the intersections.
Jenny Burman of the Chicken Corner might be saying a prayer herself about the potential traffic issues: “…here’s to the hope that for Osteen’s nighttime service the traffic and crowd flow through the surrounding neighborhood is managed more effectively than we’ve seen at the ballgames. Or maybe say a prayer to that effect.”
A traffic collision that occurred around noon today on Sunset Blvd and Lemyone in Echo Park has really backed up traffic – driving down Sunset we tracked the delayed cars to around Silver Lake Blvd. Quite a few Dodger fans were running late to the game as the tow trucks cleared out the vehicles about 40 minutes ago. Try an alternative route for a while, it looks like things are still a little slow on Sunset.
The Eastsider LA has reported that one of the vehicles ended up on the sidewalk, and “one nearby Echo Park restaurant owner said it appeared that a westbound vehicle ran a red light. The Eastsider is awaiting more info about the accident and any possible injuries from the LAPD Central Traffic Bureau.”
Be safe out there!
We don’t want you to think that all we do is complain about Dodger Stadium and game days, so we’re going to enjoy this nice evening in Echo Park and end Opening Day 2010 on a positive note. That note being: it was really a gorgeous day for some baseball! And another one, for good measure, the Dodgers won against the Diamondbacks 9-5.
Getting through the Stadium parking lot
Photo by The Eastsider LA
This is a little crazy, but they look like they’re enjoying themselves! The Eastsider LA has some great photos of the craziness going on in Elysian Park right now, click here to check it out.
We heard the fly-over from Atwater Village just a few minutes ago, and the Twitter word is that LeAnn Rimes will be singing the national anthem, then Will I Am will be tossing the ceremonial first pitch.
I haven’t even finished my first cup of coffee yet, and there’s already some drama going on with the Dodger Stadium home opener today (which doesn’t start until 1:10 pm). I’ll be posting some updates throughout the day as needed, but here’s the low-down so far:
Send us your photos or comments about how Dodger Stadium is handling Opening Day 2010.
Noel Pallais, the Dodgers Neighborhood Relations Manager, sent out an email earlier today (Friday) about what the neighborhood can expect for Opening Day on Tuesday, April 13.
The night before Opening Day, maintenance lights will be on for the duration of the night in preparation for Opening Day Events. We will make every effort to minimize the impact on our neighbors.
The pregame ceremony, which is scheduled to start at approx 12:35pm, will include a small fireworks display on the field and a military flyover approximately 10 minutes before the start of the game.
In an effort to minimize the impact on our neighbors due to the starting time being earlier than our regularly scheduled games we are working very closely with the Los Angeles Police Department, as well as the City of Los Angeles Department of Transportation; additionally, as is our policy on special event games, all of our parking gates will open earlier than our normal 2 hour period prior to the start of the game.
Since safety is of paramount importance, security and lighting will be provided to the areas around the Stadium to safeguard all vehicles and all necessary traffic controls will be in place. Additionally, you may report any security concerns to our Neighborhood Focus line at 323.224.2636.
Finally, with regards to special events at the Stadium for the upcoming season, note that postgame firework shows are only scheduled for the following dates: Monday, July 5th (start of game will be 6:10 pm) and Friday, September 3rd (start of game is scheduled for 7:10 pm). Additionally, prior to the start of every Sunday game scheduled at the Stadium, there will be a small Viva Los Dodgers musical event in our outfield parking lot (Lot G) starting approximately 2 hours prior to the scheduled start of that game and ending right at game time.
As in previous years, please keep in mind that the City of Los Angeles will close the following streets on April 13th, from 2:00 am to 8:00 pm for staging purposes and game preparations. These closures will also serve to accommodate employee parking, minimize the inconvenience to neighbors and facilitate traffic flow. Note that local and emergency access will be maintained at all times:
Scott Avenue between Stadium Way and North Boylston Street
North Boylston between Academy and Stadium Way
Lilac Terrace between Stadium Way and Lookout to Stadium
Hopefully this year’s Opening Day will run a little smoother – last year concerns were raised about tailgate parties outside of the stadium after the parking rates increased to $15.00. Parking rates stay the same, but hopefully the newly reinstated shuttle buses between the Stadium and Union Station will help alleviate some of the parking woes. The Eastsider also points out that “a spokeswoman for Councilman Eric Garcetti said there will be ‘additional deployment to address neighborhood concerns’ about tail gate parties and traffic but did could not provide details.”
Many residents have yet to receive the usual Resident placards from Dodger Stadium to help them get through the “local access only” street barricades. Noel Pallais said we should be expecting them on or before Opening Day.
The annual INRIX National Traffic Scorecard has been released for the year 2009. Once again our sweet Los Angeles tops the list. LA has held on to number one every year since 2006 with NYC in second place.
What is the worst hour of the week according to INRIX? Thursday at 5pm.
The worst place and time? The Harbor Fwy/CA-110 NB @ 8th Street/Exit 22, Thursday 5-6 PM. [6 mph average speed / 0.35 mile segment]
Find out how the scorecard was created and see the numbers at the INRIX website.
Is anyone actually surprised by this?
Tonight (Wednesday, October 21) at 7:00 pm, the Echo Park Improvement Association will meet at Williams Hall at Barlow Hospital (2000 Stadium Way).
The agenda includes some topics that many Echo Park residents have been debating lately, including the Lake restoration project, the Flea Market at the lake, and Dodger Stadium traffic (always a contentious issue).
1. Introductions and sign in
2. Local Schools:
a. Van De Kamps/LACC-LACCD Update (Garsten)
3. Land Use:
a. Barlow Hospital-Proposed Entitlements and Development Update (Garsten)
b. Taco Trucks Downtown Echo Park (Schenot)
c. New Business
i. Angeles Group to discuss Durbin project and Morton Village complex
ii. Farmer’s Market Expansion (Schenot)
iii. Proposed fee increases for LADBS appeals (Garsten)
4. Parks Issues:
a. Echo Park Lake
i. Restoration Project (Raskin)
ii. Illegal Flea Market (Hubert)
b. Elysian Park
c. New business
5. Public Works Issues:
a. EPIA/Echo Park Transportation Study (Javier Aguilar)
b. Route 2 Terminus Improvement Project Updates (Lassen, Raskin).
c. Mural Projects-EPIA Committee Progress? (Lassen, Meksin)
d. Walkable Streets-Streetscape and pedestrian amenities (Meksin)
e. Southbound 101 Alvarado Exit Left Turn Lane (Hubert to present Draft Letter)
f. Dodgers traffic issues (Hubert)
g. New Business
6. EPIA Policies & Procedures
a. Bylaws Amendments (Hubert, Garsten)
7. Public Comment on Non-Agenda Items
8. Future Agendas
9. Adjourn
For info email: andrew.garsten@sbcglobal.net
Starting a 8:00 pm tonight, the Northeast Division will be conducting a sobriety and driver’s license checkpoint at the intersection of Echo Park Avenue and Sunset Blvd. The Division’s news release cites “80 driving under the influence-related and 792 hit and run traffic collisions” so far this year in the Northeast area of Los Angeles.
Heavy traffic this evening surrounding Dodger Stadium for the Dodgers’ last home series should make the checkpoint very interesting, and will likely slow down the flow of traffic leaving the stadium later on.
Drive safe everyone!