The contested plan to build an aerial gondola tram line from downtown LA to Dodger Stadium has been placed on hold after city council members voted last week to halt the Los Angeles Aerial Rapid Transit (LA ART) for the time being.

Local outlet ABC 7 was first to report on the council’s decision to pause the approvals process “until further studies can be conducted on its potential impacts.”

Opponents of the project had lobbied against its invasiveness and potential for displacement in communities that have been historically marginalized through gentrification. Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez, who introduced the measure, said: “We owe the public a real analysis of the issues and evidence-based solutions around Dodger Stadium.” The Los Angeles Department of Transportation will now hire a special consultant to conduct the assessments.

(An unrelated assembly bill, meanwhile, is being advanced that would compensate displaced families who fell victim to the construction of Dodger Stadium in Chavez Ravine in the early 1960s.)

The turnaround is surprising considering the last update in which the LA Metro Board of Directors voted to grant their unanimous approval for the $500 million plan that included multiple concessions to local business owners in Echo Park, Chinatown, and other neighborhoods along its three-station route.

If approved, the gondola would be operated daily from 6 AM to midnight year-round, with increased volume on gamedays. It has been in the works since 2018, when a group backed by former Dodgers owner Frank McCort introduced it as one of several new transportation alternatives to be implemented in time for the city to host the 2028 Summer Olympics and Paralympics.

It is not clear when the assessment will be conducted or what the next steps will be thereafter. As ABC noted, a host of other state and city agencies (including the Los Angeles city government, Caltrans, the California State Department of Parks and Recreation, and the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health) would have to grant separate approvals before sending the plan back to LA Metro's Board for the final go-ahead to begin construction.