‘LA is ready': City prepares for traffic nightmare with World Series headlining sports-filled Friday

Los Angeles officials announced their plans to mitigate possibly heavy traffic Friday night as the city is scheduled to host the World Series and several other sporting events.

Mayor Karen Bass spoke at a news conference alongside leaders from the Los Angeles Police Department, LA Metro, the Los Angeles Department of Transportation and others Thursday morning. 

"LA is ready," Bass said, adding Friday is a practice run before the city hosts the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. "(The city is) ready to host the World Series, ready to welcome visitors from near and far and most importantly ready to win."

Here are the Los Angeles neighborhoods impacted by Friday events

• Elysian Park: As the first game of the World Series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees is kicking off at 8:08 p.m. ET. Friday, tens of thousands of people will fill Dodger Stadium with the capacity of 56,000. Public officials are urging Dodger fans to use Metro to get to Dodger Stadium. Fans will have to get off the train at the Chinatown station and walk 1.2 miles to the stadium.
• Downtown LA: In addition to the World Series game, Crypto.com Arena will be filled with basketball fans as the Lakers take on the Phoenix Suns.
• Exposition Park: The USC football team will play against Rutgers at the LA Memorial Coliseum at 11 p.m. ET.
• Inglewood: The East LA Classic between Garfield High School and Roosevelt High School will happen at 9 p.m. ET at SoFi Stadium. This is one of the largest high school football rivalry games. Also at Intuit Dome, English musician David Gilmour will perform with the concert starting at 10:30 p.m. ET.

Traffic safety

More than 100 white glove traffic officers will be positions at intersections near the big events.

The city will also deploy 28 traffic engineers for specialized routes, such as Dodger Stadium Express Lane. They will also make travel lane adjustments to allow traffic to flow.

The Dodger Stadium Express will start 3 hours ahead of the opening pitch.

And more Dodger Stadium Express buses from Union Station will be deployed Friday and Saturday night, at least every 5-7 minutes. From Harbor Gateway, the Dodger Stadium Express will run every 20-30 minutes, depending on demand.

Anyone with a ticket to the game can ride the bus for free.

Public safety

The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) will be on heightened alert and deploy more officers on the streets of LA to increase law enforcement visibility at public locations including Dodger Stadium.

The LAPD is acting proactively to protect businesses and make sure there are peaceful celebrations, according to Chief Dominic Choi.

"Violence will not be tolerated."

Public transportation

LA Metro will be running extra service on the A, B/D and E Lines on Friday and Saturday night. See more information here. And Metro ambassadors will be seen at the subway stations, according to city officials.

The Dodger Stadium Express, a free shuttle service, will start 3 hours ahead of the opening pitch.

And more Dodger Stadium Express buses from Union Station will be deployed Friday and Saturday night, at least every 5-7 minutes. From Harbor Gateway, the Dodger Stadium Express will run every 20-30 minutes, depending on demand.

Anyone with a ticket to the game can ride the bus for free.