Readying for Fest Opening : L.A. Festival: New bus lines, park-and-ride facilities are planned to handle 100,000 people over three days.

Los Angeles Festival and Dept. of Transportation officials are planning park-and-ride facilities, shuttles and buses to handle the more than 100,000 people predicted to flock to San Pedro’s Point Fermin/Angel’s Gate Park this weekend over three days of opening activities for the $5-million, 230-event gala.

To handle the crowds, the Dept. of Transportation is pumping more than $60,000 into the park-and-ride sites; and more than 175 signs, 40 Explorer Scouts, 25 traffic officers and 10 Transportation Dept. engineers will direct drivers.

Police and residents of the district are concerned that the area--which has only two access roads and severe parking problems as it is--won’t be able to handle the influx.

“I don’t know how they’ll squeeze that many people in there. It’s going to be a madhouse to say the least,” said Jeff Hamilton, LAPD’s senior lead officer for the Angel’s Gate area. “I don’t understand where they’re going to park those cars. These neighborhoods are going to be inundated.”

“Where they’re going to put that many people is beyond me,” said Joseph Drabinski, a park ranger who regularly patrols the area. “The Fourth of July was the most crowded we’ve ever had--and there was, I’d say, 350 people in the area. And they were triple-parked then.”

But festival officials said they will be ready. Drivers entering the area will be directed to three park-and-ride sites--one at White Point Park (where the city is grading about 15 acres to create room for 2,000 vehicles), and the others four miles away at Terminal Island’s Berth 87 and Todd Shipyard. Between them, nearly 8,000 vehicles can be parked at one time, according to festival consultant Warren Christensen.

“The flow of traffic down Gaffey Street (the main road into Angel’s Gate) is really going to be directed toward the park-and-ride lots,” said Christensen, noting that only residents, handicap-permitted vehicles and those with special festival passes would be allowed into the Angel’s Gate area. When exiting off the Harbor Freeway, all vehicles will go through two checkpoints leading them to the Terminal Island sites. Those that continue past those points will be directed from Gaffey onto westbound 25th Street toward the White Point Park park-and-ride area.

But despite 16 RTD buses scheduled to shuttle festivalgoers to performance sites every three minutes, Hamilton doubted the festival could accommodate 8,000 cars. He said the Terminal Island spots are normally taken up by vehicles parked for weekend cruise ships.

Hamilton expects drivers will still attempt to park in the beach lots and residential neighborhoods--which, he said, are jam-packed by 9 a.m. on normal holiday weekends--closer to the venue.

That expectation has left some area residents worried.

“The neighbors here are very concerned about this,” said Irene Goldstone, who heads the Point Fermin Residents Festival Committee and chairs the San Pedro Neighborhood Committee, both of which were formed in response to the event.

“We’re concerned about parking and traffic, we’re concerned what people will do for restroom facilities, we’re concerned about vandalism . . . and we’re concerned about emergency response teams being able to get to us if we need them,” said Goldstone. In June she circulated an unsuccessful petition--signed by 25 area homeowners--to have the event moved.

“The program they’re putting on is marvelous,” she said. “But why have it here, where there’s no access and no parking? To sacrifice the whole neighborhood for one event isn’t worth it.”

Goldstone said residents are dreading a repeat of problems encountered during the 1986 L.A. Beach Scene. That event, featuring two days of rock concerts at nearby Cabrillo Beach, drew 200,000 people and scores of complaints from angry neighbors who said attendees urinated on their lawns, threw beer bottles on the street, vandalized the area and caused traffic to back up for miles.

Hamilton said, however, that police expected no such problems at the L.A. Festival because alcohol will not be sold and the arts crowd is not expected to be “of the type that will cause problems.”

Still, the Harbor Division police are planning “maximum deployment” for a holiday weekend in the area--nine patrol cars and 10 additional officers. At least two park rangers and a few reserve officers will also be on hand.

While some doubt that the opening events of the festival, which has suffered from low public awareness, will bring a large crowd, Christensen said his estimate of 33,000 per day is based on his experience with more than 40 arts festivals in Los Angeles. He added that he expects every festival staff member and volunteer to bring about 10 friends--thus accounting for a readymade crowd of 20,000 to 30,000 attendees in addition to those who learned of the festival through ads, newspaper accounts and word of mouth.

A total of 40 artist groups are scheduled to perform during the three-day opening weekend on six stages constructed throughout the 33-acre Point Fermin Park, the 110-acre Angel’s Gate Park and the 15-acre Wilder Park. Connecting the three will be a Festival Village with 50 vendor booths.

Information: (800) LA-RIDE.