Super Bowl: Navigating Inglewood Ahead Of Sunday's Big Game
INGLEWOOD (CBSLA) — With over 100,000 people expected to converge on Inglewood on Sunday alone, Los Angeles County transportation officials have been busy working to formulate plans and open additional services for the influx of visitors.
As a result of the big game, several streets in Inglewood will be closed until early Monday morning, a move that went into effect on Thursday, in order to accommodate for the variety of events surrounding the Super Bowl, as well as working to prevent a disruption to Inglewood residents. A list of the road closures can be found here.
Parking won't only be limited in the area, but it will be extremely pricey, with reports of single parking spots at SoFi Stadium costing upwards of $6,000. Officials also warned attendees to keep an eye out for illegal parking operations, similar to what happened at the NFC Championship Game in January, when several fans got scammed out of their money, and a legitimate parking option.
Additionally, L.A. Metro Transportation official Dave Sotero spoke with CBS reporters on Wednesday to offer advice on how to tackle the vehicle and foot traffic that have begun to affect the city.
Officials are highly recommending the use of public transportation, due to the gridlock that will undoubtedly be surrounding the Stadium, beginning in the early morning on Sunday, as fans gather to tailgate and prepare ahead of kickoff at 3:30 p.m.
They suggest parking at Wally Park, located near LAX, and getting to Inglewood via Metro bus from Century Boulevard, or parking at one of 90 Metro Park and Rides in the area, then taking the C-Line to Hawthorne-Lennox Station, where a free shuttle will be available to all starting at 10:45 a.m.
Uber officials have also disclosed that their ridesharing will experience a surcharge around SoFi Stadium, with much longer than expected wait times. However, should you be able to secure a ride with Uber, SoFi Stadium will have both drop-off and pick-up areas available for all ridesharing options.
While excited about the revenue headed to their city, and L.A. County as a whole, Inglewood residents not attending the game, who have already experienced their share of annoyance surrounding home games at SoFi, have seemingly come to a mutual agreement ahead of the Super Bowl - stay home.
Samuel Sandoval and Keith Young were two of the many who had no big plans ahead of the big game, "We're just staying home. Traffic is going to be really bad," Sandoval said.
Young doubled-down on that plan when speaking with CBS reporters, "We're going to hunker down. We're not going to get out."
Both detailed a series of different trends they've noticed on game day in Inglewood, including illegal parkers, litterers and rowdy crowds in their residential areas.
"Once the game's done, they'll come out here - stop at the liquor store, get a few beers - just drink and leave a mess out here. We're the ones that got to pick it up," he said, when detailing that he's complained to the city on multiple occasions about the mess left in both he and his neighbor's yards.
"Just respect the neighbors. That's all we want.Just clean up after yourself. Don't leave a mess and don't be so rowdy," he continued.
One thing officials can guarantee, is that parking illegally - anywhere in Inglewood - or the surrounding area, will get you towed. They also warn that loitering will not be permitted and enforcement will be in place to make sure the surrounding areas remain clear, while indicating that permit parking restrictions will be strongly enforced.
