If the Oakland A’s have their way, traveling to the team’s proposed ballpark at Howard Terminal would involve gliding over Interstate 880 and the Southern Pacific railroad tracks in an aerial gondola.

But the city isn’t counting on the promise of a gondola to accommodate the thousands of people who would flock to Jack London Square near the stadium for game days.

“The gondola is something that the A’s are proposing as a potential,” said Nicole Ferrara, the policy and intergovernmental affairs adviser for Oakland’s transportation department. “They aren’t proposing that they will definitely construct the gondola.”

Instead the city is banking on a transportation hub a mere quarter mile from the proposed ballpark on Second Street that will serve as a one-stop shop for a shuttle service to and from BART and a place for bike and scooter shares. The hub, equipped with television screens to play the game, seating areas, restrooms and, possibly, a cafe, is meant to enrich the game-day experience.

“In order to make transit the primary way to come to the site, we need to make it very attractive as well,” Ferrara said.

With the ferry terminal not far, “there is a number of opportunities to connect people to this area,” she added.

City staff introduced the first draft of their transportation plan at community workshops over the past month that focused on public transportation. The Howard Terminal site, if approved for the stadium, is isolated. It is at least a mile from a BART station. Railroad tracks constrain the area — a quandary for city staff as they propose adding fencing for safety.

The A’s have boasted that the new ballpark could come with an ambitious plan to transport 6,000 people per hour by a gondola equipped with views of the city’s waterfront and a quick five-minute ride from downtown to the stadium. Despite the city’s uncertainty about whether the gondola will happen, the A’s still think it’s a “viable transportation option” to move thousands of people to and from Jack London Square, said Catherine Aker, a spokeswoman for the team.

“We are still continuing to study the feasibility of the gondola,” she said.

The city estimates that out of 35,000 fans flooding the ballpark each game, 50% will arrive in their vehicles, 23% through BART, 16% via Uber or Lyft, and 4% by foot.

Ferrara said the estimates are conservative. Officials hope the number of people walking, taking public transit and biking will increase over time.

The city plans to use a parking management system to set prices in city-owned and private lots on game days — the closer to the ballpark, the more expensive parking will be.

To encourage more people to walk, the city plans to make improvements to intersections near freeways and underpasses.

“What we’ve heard in the past in general, the intersections surrounding the freeways are auto-oriented and make it hard to cross the street,” Ferrara said. “Once you get to the freeway underpasses, they are dirty, they’re not well lit, they’re uncomfortable and dark and damp.”

New street lighting and artwork could affect existing encampments that have sought refuge near the underpasses. The city plans to open a community cabin site in Jack London Square on Caltrans land under Interstate 880 for people from nearby encampments.

The transportation plan is in its early stages, Ferrara said, and staff are still analyzing data from community members who will be impacted by the potential ballpark. The city will send a final version of the plan to the City Council for a vote this year.

The A’s hope to open the privately funded stadium in spring of 2023. The team is waiting on an environmental impact report.

The report — which requires land use approvals from state and local agencies — is yet to be completed. Dave Kaval, the president of the team, previously said he expects the report to be done by Jan. 31.

Sarah Ravani is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: sravani@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @SarRavani