Notoriously Busy Travel Day Missing Just One Thing--the Usual Congestion

You’d have expected the place to have been packed--a nightmare of no parking, nasty tempers and long lines--but it wasn’t.

Late Wednesday afternoon, Lindbergh Field was peaceful.

Planes, trains, automobiles--even buses and boats--were moving smoothly Thanksgiving eve, traditionally one of the two busiest travel days of the year (the other being Christmas Eve).

At the airport, flights were on time. There was no waiting or only short lines at the ticket counters. Passengers, waiting for planes, dozed or thumbed through newspapers.

And--in what veteran airport police and skycaps seemed to regard as a modern-day miracle--there was plenty of parking.

“I don’t know whether people are staying home because of the price of traveling or if they’re leaving their cars at home more or what it is,” Harbor Police Sgt. Mike Lambert said. “But it’s normally jammed by now.”

Authorities expected the pace to pick up late in the evening, but much of the day was marked by an absence of the usual problems.

By early evening, authorities were still waiting for the hammer to fall in the form of traffic congestion and airport snarls.

“Rush hour started a little early, but we’ve had only a few fender-benders. Nothing bloody yet,” said California Highway Patrol Officer Joe Wolf.

“We expect some trouble, of course, but so far so good,” Jim Larson, spokesman for the California Department of Transportation, said late Wednesday afternoon.

Amtrak, which adds two coaches during the holiday rush, reported heavy passenger loads moving smoothly into and out of San Diego. Many passengers were scrambling for any open seats among their co-travelers who had reserved months ago.

Wednesday and Sunday are Amtrak’s two top travel days,” said spokesman Arthur Lloyd. “There’s a traditional 20% increase in business. . . . There have been no breakdowns so far, but in the transportation business, you never know.”

Greyhound also reported a steady stream of riders without problems.

“Everything’s going smoothly. Things are pretty much on time,” said terminal manager Carolyn Jensen. “The phones are ringing, the buses are moving in and out, we’re very busy--I love it like this.”

Even San Diego Bay--which is in the midst of the annual migration of “snow bird” boaters who stop off here on their way from Canada and the Northwestern United States to Mexico for the winter--was clear of trouble.

“There’s a lot of coming and going out here on the water, but no trouble so far,” said Harbor Police Investigator Nate Goodwin.

The same was true at Lindbergh Field. Even the weather was cooperating.

“It’s a good forecast, so we aren’t looking for any trouble,” said air traffic controller Ken Dean. “Everything is working in our favor right now.”

Late in the afternoon, the large number of open spaces in the parking lots was noticeable. People came expecting to haggle over any untaken slots--a few drivers were darting in and out, giving blasts on their horns and making rude gestures, until they realized there were plenty of open spaces.

In the terminal, it was largely quiet.

“You noticed, huh? We should be wall-to-wall people by now,” said Judy Perry, a volunteer with Travelers Aid.

Travelers Aid board President Johni Cormier showed up to help out but was not needed.

“I don’t know where all the people are,” she said. “It will get busier later, I’m sure, but this is very strange.”

Inside, ticket agents and counter clerks might have been relieved by the slow pace, but not all were happy. Solicitors seemed disappointed and a few were downright miffed.

“Naw, nobody’s in the giving spirit, man,” said one woman who refused to say who she was collecting money for.

Offered $1, then $5, then $10 for the answer, she said only: “What you want to know for? Can’t you just give? Why do people always got to know that?”