The ITC – It’s Time for Us to All Get on Board, or Get Left Behind
We did it. We survived. Let’s be honest, some of us even enjoyed six sold-out performances of Taylor Swift’s Eras concert at Inglewood’s SoFi Stadium. Die-hard Swifties may follow her to Mexico, Argentina and Japan for the next legs of her tour, but Inglewood and the entire South Bay have not recovered playing host to the 420,000 people who showed up by car, train, ride share and even bicycle. But mostly by car.
What are we recovering from? Inglewood and our neighboring cities experienced a level of traffic congestion – beginning hours before the event when thousands showed up to buy their merch – that has begun to define our town.
For hours, our streets looked like pedestrian promenades. Many of us couldn’t get out of our driveways – and just said silent prayers that there would be no emergency that would require us to content with the parking lots on our streets.
We don’t blame the fans. They paid good money to watch Taylor go through each and every era, and many had to endure a bitter end to an ecstatic evening when it took them two hours to get out of the parking lot after the show.
Swift’s tour was not the end of this.
As the Chargers faced off against the Saints in the midst of Hurricane Hilary, we braced ourselves thinking what a nightmare it may be for the tens of thousands of fans who were making their pilgrimage down Prairie Avenue, with a deep sigh of relief that many of the neighbors had opted to stay home, in compliance with the flash flood alerts.
Whether it’s a concert, a global competition, or a sports game, we know that the experience once you get into Sofi – or the Kia Forum or the YouTube Theater or even the soon to open Intuit Dome – will be spectacular. But what is not spectacular is the experience getting to and from these venues, and the collateral damage it creates for the surrounding communities.
This problem is not going to fix itself. Beyonce is gracing us with her presence this weekend. When the Intuit Dome opens next year, we are expecting about 400 events per year.
There is a better way to manage this. It doesn’t involve more traffic control cops, or even shuttles which themselves get stuck getting in and out of the venues.
It’s the Inglewood Transit Connector.
Poised to connect directly to the K Line at Market Street, it will link seamlessly to Inglewood’s sports and entertainment district. It will reduce GHGs, decrease the number of vehicular and pedestrian accidents, and bottom line, improve the quality life of employees, visitors and residents alike.
The ITC promises fares that will be cheaper then parking spaces and can actually get tens of thousands of cars off our roads. Or you can hop on that helicopter ride being offered from the Hawthorne airport…
We can do better, Inglewood. The City is changing. It’s time to get on board or get left behind.
Odest Riley is the Chief Executive Officer of WLM Financial and Realty and a lifetime Inglewood resident.