This past week, Q-Line asked:
L.A. Dodgers owner Frank McCourt, who also owns the L.A. Marathon, has dreams of ending the route of the race somewhere near Santa Monica. Supporters say it will be an economic benefit to have the marathon pass through town while others believe it will only create more traffic and drain scarce resources. Do you think the marathon is a good idea?
Here are your responses:
“I do not think the marathon is a good idea anywhere in L.A., but very definitely not in or near Santa Monica. If Frank McCourt is so anxious about it, let these jerks run laps around Dodger Stadium — lot of photo ops there. Our L.A. roads, especially in Santa Monica, are way too overcrowded to accommodate this special interest group. That goes for the bicyclists, too. And to upset this city for an entire Sunday is unconscionable. Once again, the City Council has cash registers for brains.”
“Runners and marathons are not new to Santa Monica. Every day of the week, one will find runners in every nook and cranny of Santa Monica, especially in Palisades Park and along the median strip that runs parallel to San Vicente Boulevard. A large marathon through the streets of Santa Monica will render down to clean, wholesome fun, and is often over before folks get out of bed on the weekends. I agree with Frank McCourt: I believe a good time will be had by one and all.”
“It should then be called the Los Angeles-Santa Monica Marathon, and the owner should reimburse our city for traffic costs. Olympic marathons usually begin and end in the same place, so the crowds are there for the start and finish. This new plan also creates a logistical problem, since the runners have to be bussed back to where the race began, which is kind of dumb.”
“They should do it wherever they can have it so the course goes uphill, like start out in the valley and go to the top of the Griffith Park Observatory area.”
“The marathon is not a good idea for Santa Monica or even L.A., unless it’s run from Malibu or such places north, down to Redondo Beach or somewhere south, on the bicycle path.”
“I don’t think the marathon is a good idea, because it will tie up our traffic all over the whole area. It’s all tied up, you can’t get out, and it’s all blocked off. So I think thumbs down on it.”
“What a great idea. Having the run end in Santa Monica would make the L.A. Marathon much more attractive to runners, give the marathon here a whole new cachet, and benefit Santa Monica businesses. The event would generate traffic, but on the whole, the pluses would far outweigh the minuses.”
“Have you ever felt that we in this town live in a Disney movie? Mickey Mouse as the mayor, the seven dwarves as the council, Sleeping Beauty as one of the countless female bureaucrats at City Hall, Goofy as the moron who thought of this idea, and Maximillian, the evil robot and black hole, as Frank McCourt, the Dodger Doggie’s tycoon. What do we get out of this marathon? The streets are closed, maybe the Pacific Coast Highway — for what? Millions of dollars in overtime for police, city workers, Santa Monica Pier staff, parking enforcement, Red Cross, Big Blue Bus, school district, SMC, who else? There are plenty of leeches in this town. Most everything in Santa Monica is for someone else: Bums, tourists, L.A. light rail, bike riders, Annenberg Beach House, education, the pier. What are the negatives that we, the tax paying citizens, gain with the marathon? Traffic jams and more Mickey Mouse leadership. Walt would roll over.”
“I think the marathon going through or near Santa Monica is a great idea. Why not? Who cares? It should go through Santa Monica and the people who complain about streets being blocked off are just whiners anyway.”
