Take us out to the ballgame

Re “Stadium makeover is unveiled,” April 25

The Dodgers’ new stadium plan sounds and looks wonderful. But before it attracts larger crowds, the current chaotic parking situation should be corrected. Management keeps touting the “wonderful fan experience.” No matter how great it may be, it dissipates quickly when it’s time to go home.

Ken Chane

Tarzana

Dodger Stadium is only a short distance, as the crow flies, from the Metro Gold Line Chinatown station. Angelenos can’t fly like crows, so I have two suggestions.

First, create a walkway from Chinatown to Dodger Stadium, with a pedestrian-only bridge over the freeway. Include a covered escalator for use on game days for the steep uphill part of the trip.

Second, open up the perimeter of Chavez Ravine with walking and biking trails to give Chinatown residents the chance to enjoy the area. Provide year-round access by the pedestrian walkway and add a gondola system from Chinatown, like the one at Mammoth Mountain, and Chavez Ravine becomes a “destination” for physical activity as well as the purchase of Dodgers memorabilia.

Maybe then I will become a Dodgers fan.

Andrew Shaddock

Manhattan Beach

Plans to renovate Dodger Stadium are admirable, and the idea of adding a dedicated bus line and transit plaza shows vision. However, this year’s game at the Coliseum clearly demonstrated the inherent capacity limitations of a bus-based transit system.

Furthermore, Dodgers owner Frank McCourt’s call for city officials to “tweak and adjust subway lines” smacks of naivete. Given Metro’s current budget shortfall and upcoming service reductions, we should not expect a dramatically enhanced transit system any time soon -- unless additional resources are brought to bear on this problem.

For this reason, I urge anyone hoping to avoid future traffic jams -- at Dodger Stadium or anywhere else -- to support the new transit sales tax on the November ballot.

Ian J. Crossfield

Los Angeles