Charitie McArthur says she bleeds Dodger blue. She thinks Vin Scully is a genius, wept with joy when Steve Finley's grand slam clinched a division title in 2004 and scored big when she got married at home plate at Dodger Stadium the following summer.
But as the team returns to town this week for the new season, the 32-year-old teacher from Redondo Beach is already cringing. It's not the team's prospects that have her down, but the prospect of the bad traffic expected at this weekend's games.
Opening Day in 2007 has already gone into the record books as one of the worst traffic days in stadium history. A new parking system, requiring fans to park and exit in certain locations as opposed to picking their own spots, led to epic gridlock.
"Leaving the game was like walking out into a war zone," McArthur recalled of her two-hour journey out of the stadium parking lot. "There was literally nowhere you could go."
The Dodgers, for their part, like their parking prospects this year, pointing to a lineup featuring 1,000 new spaces, which were created when some landscaping between lots was removed. As for the team, they play host to the world champion Boston Red Sox at Dodger Stadium tonight and Sunday afternoon, followed by the regular season opener Monday against the division rival San Francisco Giants.
"We know that weekday traffic can be particularly challenging, but we hope that the addition of . . . new spaces, coupled with a city and state holiday" -- Cesar Chavez Day on Monday -- "ease the congestion," wrote chief marketing officer Charles Steinberg in an e-mail to The Times. "Nonetheless, the best way to avoid traffic is to come early. The parking lots open at 10:40 a.m., and Opening Day is a great time to watch batting practice and check out the 2008 innovations" to the stadium.
The traffic at 56,000-seat Dodger Stadium, however, may be bush league compared to the expected turnout for Saturday night's game against the Red Sox at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. More than 100,000 tickets have been sold. That's about 10,000 more than for a USC football game -- when traffic isn't exactly peachy.
The Dodgers will be running free shuttle buses from Dodger Stadium to the corner of Figueroa Street and Exposition Boulevard near the Coliseum beginning at 11 a.m. and continuing until two hours after the game. Fans using the buses are asked to enter the Sunset/Elysian Park gate at Dodger Stadium and to reserve a spot on the buses by calling (323) 224-1507. Parking is free at Dodger Stadium but $25 at the Coliseum.
