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December
20,
2005 |
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Rose Queen and
Royal Court Ride Metro Gold Line, Urge Public to Utilize Public Transit
for 2006 Rose Parade, Rose Bowl Game and Other Festivities
The Tournament of Roses Queen and Court joined Metro officials at the soon-to-open Del Mar Station Transit Village in Pasadena to take their inaugural ride on the Metro Gold Line and encourage the public to "Go Metro" to attend all 2006 New Year's and Tournament of Roses festivities. Metro
Rail remains the quickest, easiest way to get in and out of Pasadena for
all New Year's festivities, which will be spread over several days
this year. "The
various Tournament of Roses festivities attract more than one million
people," said Tournament of Roses President Libby Evans Wright. "We
encourage everyone to make their travel as simple as possible by taking
advantage of the convenient Metro service." "Now in its third
year of parade service, the Metro Gold Line has, itself, become a
valuable part of the Tournament of Roses tradition, carrying tens of
thousands of revelers to these world-class events every year," said
Roger Snoble, Metro CEO. "All of us at Metro will do everything we can
to provide the best transit service to the public so all may enjoy these
marque events." To
promote public safety, Metro will be providing free rides on all Metro
buses and trains starting at 9 p.m. on Christmas Eve, December 24,
through Christmas Day, December 25, ending at midnight. The agency is
also providing free rides on New Year's Eve, December 31, beginning at
9 p.m. through New Year's Day, January 1, ending again at midnight. The
117th Rose Parade will take place the day after New Year's on Monday,
Jan. 2, 2006. Metro will be operating both the Metro Gold Line
and Metro Red Line all night Sunday to enable parade goers to get an
early place along the parade route. Parade goers can choose to use one
of four train stations in Pasadena: Memorial Park and Del Mar stations
are about two blocks from the parade route; the Lake and Allen stations
are approximately four blocks from the parade route. Parking
is available at several Metro Gold Line Stations, including Sierra Madre
Villa (950 free and reserve spaces), Del Mar (600 paid spaces), Fillmore
(131 free and reserve spaces), Heritage Square/Arroyo (145 free spaces),
Lincoln Heights/Cypress Park (91 free spaces) and Union Station (2,000+
paid spaces). The
public may view post-parade floats at Victory Park, corner of Washington
and Sierra Madre Boulevards in Pasadena January 2 and 3. Revelers
can take the Metro Gold Line to Sierra Madre Villa Station in East
Pasadena, where they can board shuttle buses from the Bus Plaza on the
first level, which will take them directly to Victory Park. Shuttles
will depart from Sierra Madre Villa from 12:30 p.m. to 3 p.m. January 2
and from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. January 3. Regular fares will apply. Alternately,
spectators can ride their bikes to the park and utilize a bicycle valet
parking center provided by Bicycle Frontiers for a suggested $2.50
donation. The service will be available at the park entrance on Sierra
Madre Boulevard a few yards from the corner with Paloma Street. Food aficionados may
also utilize the Metro Gold Line to participate in the Pasadena Food
Bowl on Colorado Boulevard in Old Pasadena January 3 from 10 a.m. to 10
p.m. Admission is free and will include music, entertainment and arts
festival. This year the 92nd
Rose Bowl Game, hosting the BCS National Championship between the USC
Trojans and the Texas Longhorns, is scheduled for 5 p.m. kick-off on
Wednesday, January 4. Sports fans attending this game can avoid
high parking fees by utilizing the Metro Gold Line. Fans can exit at
Memorial Park Station and walk a short distance down Holly Street to the
Parsons parking lot at 100 West Walnut Street to catch a free game
shuttle starting at 11 a.m. Metro does not allow
eating, drinking or smoking on board Metro trains or buses. To ensure
public safety, Metro prohibits the following items from being brought on
board the Metro Bus or Rail system: flammable products, barbecues and
oversized items such as ladders, umbrellas, tents, chairs and coolers. Attending parade
festivities is easy using the $3 Metro Day Pass. Passes can be used for
traveling on both Metro Bus and Rail and are valid from the time of
purchase until 3 a.m. the next day. Tickets can be purchased on board
Metro Buses or at ticket vending machines at Metro Rail stations. To obtain specific
timetable information, visit WWW.METRO.NET
or call Metro-188 |
