Mayor Should Be Urged to Back New Terminal
* Mayor Richard Riordan would no doubt be thrilled to see Richard Close’s advice (Commentary, Oct. 10) on revitalizing the Valley.
It’s too bad one of his proposals repeats the same old alarmist blather about the Burbank Airport’s essential new terminal.
According to Close, the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport “wants to grow by more than 300%.” But this figure is for passenger space. And neither passengers nor terminals make any of the noise he complains about.
The only pertinent measure of the airport’s growth is the number of commercial flights, a figure determined largely by the number of passenger loading gates. The airport now has 17 gates and plans to have 27 gates by 2010. This means the facility will then be around 58% busier than it is now, not 300%.
If Mr. Close is really serious about revitalizing the Valley and its economy, he should be urging the mayor to help the airport build its new terminal.
The Burbank Airport is the Valley’s single most important job generator and economic asset. Keeping the airport too small to serve its future passengers, as Close wants, is the worst possible advice to give the new city administration.
STEVE VOLZ
North Hollywood
Volz is past president of Friends of Burbank Airport.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
