L.A. Airport Expansion

“Riordan Touts MTA Progress, Airport Plans” (Feb. 4) leaves many misconceptions about plans to expand Los Angeles International Airport. The proposed expansion, which would double the passenger traffic and triple the cargo in the next few years, is incredibly shortsighted. The facility is already far too congested, both in air traffic and ground traffic. Air safety is already compromised. Communities within a wide radius of LAX are already, and would be further, choked with traffic, pollution and noise.

LAX alone is simply too small to meet the growing air transport demands of the region’s vibrant economy. We must adopt a region-wide plan to manage this growth--by developing airports that ring the region, including the LAX-owned Palmdale and Ontario airports.

This past year, concerned and angry citizens, community, business and environmental groups formed a new coalition--the Alliance for Regional Solution to Airport Congestion--to promote regional solutions to the future commercial aviation demands of Southern California. We are supported by many local, state and federal elected officials in the area--including on the L.A. City Council, who must approve any LAX expansion, and in the Palmdale-Lancaster area, who want and need Palmdale Airport developed.

ROBIN FRIEDHEIM

Co-founder, ARSAC

Redondo Beach