Soggy Turf Will Reduce Rose Bowl Parking 75%

With water from the storms of the past week still standing on grassy areas around the Rose Bowl, Pasadena city officials decided Monday not to allow use of those areas for parking during the Rose Bowl game.

The change, expected to reduce parking by 75%, will require increased use of shuttle buses for spectators going to the afternoon game and the parking of cars four and five deep on nearby streets.

But Rose Bowl officials and Pasadena police said they don’t expect serious gridlock because they will use a contingency plan drawn up after rain caused a horrible traffic jam in 1955.

“It will not be chaotic. It will be very carefully directed,” said Rose Bowl General Manager Greg Asbury. In 1955, the last time rain fell on the parade and game, “cars had to be towed out” from the muddied turf parking lots, he said.

But said Pasadena Police Sgt. Dennis Grammer of the traffic division, rain notwithstanding, “it’s not going to be a nightmare” this year.

Normally, as many as 15,000 automobiles park on adjacent athletic fields and the fairways of the Brookside Golf Course.

Because of the potential damage to the soggy turf, city officials said they decided to implement the plan--which was last used in 1982 for the New Year’s Day game. Traffic officers will guide spectators’ vehicles into tight patterns four and five deep along nearby residential streets, officials said.

In addition, football fans will be directed to a lot with more than 5,000 spaces at the Ralph M. Parsons Co., an engineering firm at Fair Oaks Avenue and Walnut Street. Shuttle buses operated by the Southern California Rapid Transit District will carry fans to the Rose Bowl, starting at 11 a.m. There will be a $2.20 round trip fee.

Police suggest arriving as early as 10 to 11 a.m., either in the Rose Bowl area or at the Parsons parking lot.

At worst, police said, game spectators may have to walk as far as two miles to get to the stadium. Those who arrive early in the morning, however, may only have to walk as little as the length of a football field.

Parking in the paved lots of the Rose Bowl will be limited to those who hold parking passes.

The most likely traffic snags, Grammer said, will come after the game for those parked on neighborhood streets. “It is going to take people a little bit more time to get their vehicles out,” he said.

City officials said they doubted that even without any rain before Wednesday, the turf areas would be dry enough to park on.

For both the game, which starts at 2 p.m., and the parade, which begins at 8:10 a.m., police are encouraging use of car pools and public transportation.

As his best tip for both parade and game, Grammer said: “Arrive early.”

To facilitate traffic, the state Department of Transportation will close the following freeway ramps and streets tonight and Wednesday:

* The on-ramps to the northbound Long Beach Freeway (710) at California and Del Mar boulevards from 8 p.m. today to 11 a.m. Wednesday.

* Pasadena Avenue from Columbia Street to Del Mar Boulevard from 8 p.m. today to 11 a.m. Wednesday.

* The eastbound Foothill Freeway exit at San Gabriel Boulevard and westbound Foothill Freeway exit to Sierra Madre Boulevard between 8 p.m. today and 6 p.m. Wednesday.

* Eastbound Ventura Freeway on-ramp from San Rafael Avenue and the exit at Orange Grove Boulevard from 8 p.m. today to noon Wednesday.

On New Year’s Day, the following exits and streets will be closed:

* Westbound Ventura Freeway exit to San Rafael Avenue from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

* Westbound Ventura Freeway right lanes both at Orange Grove Boulevard and San Rafael Avenue from 3 to 6 p.m.

Caltrans message sign trucks and trailers will be stationed along the Glendale, Ventura, Foothill and Pasadena freeways.

The RTD will operate nine bus lines to Pasadena from throughout the county. Bus information is available by calling these numbers for the following areas: San Gabriel Valley, (818) 443-1307; San Fernando Valley, (818) 781-5890; Pasadena, (818) 246-2493; Long Beach, (310) 639-6800; Whittier, (310) 699-0954; Los Angeles, (213) 626-4455, and for the hearing impaired, TTY (800) 252-9040.

For parking and traffic information today or Wednesday, call the Pasadena Police Department’s traffic division at (818) 405-4621 or the Pasadena Convention and Visitors Bureau hot line at (818) 584-5983 (9 a.m. to 9 p.m. today and on New Year’s Day from 9 a.m. to noon only.)

Rose Bowl Parking

Pasadena police officials said Monday that because of the recent rainstorms, parking near the Rose Bowl for the game will be limited, essentially only for those people who now hold parking passes. For others, police suggest:

* From the Foothill Freeway (210): Exit at Arroyo Boulevard or Berkshire Avenue where police will direct motorists to parking locations along Pasadena streets near the Rose Bowl.

* From the Ventura Freeway (134): Take the San Rafael Avenue exit in Pasadena where police will also direct motorists to parking locations or take the Glendale Freeway (2) north to the eastbound Foothill Freeway (210).

* From the Pasadena Freeway (110): Follow to the end, then go north on Arroyo Parkway and travel on westbound cross streets to make your way to Fair Oaks Avenue and Walnut Street. There, at the southwest corner, park at the Ralph M. Parsons engineering company lot. A shuttle bus ($2.20 for the round trip) will take game-goers to the bowl.

* For other information today or Wednesday: Call the Pasadena Police Department’s traffic division at (818) 405-4621 or the Pasadena Convention and Visitors Bureau hot line at (818) 584-5983 (9 a.m. to 9 p.m., except New Year’s Day from 9 a.m. to noon only.)

Police also recommend that game spectators form a car pool or use public transportation.