Efforts to End LAX Congestion Seem Grounded
If Los Angeles International Airport fared poorly in a poll of air travelers, try to poll those who have to sit in snarled traffic for 45 minutes and more just to find a parking space, let alone get into the airport [“LAX Customer Satisfaction Below Average,” Nov. 14].
What happened to last year’s much fanfared announcement of a regional solution to the area’s air transportation problems? What happened to “actively promoting Palmdale to alleviate LAX gridlock”?
CARLO BONDANELLI
Los Angeles
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* The story brought to mind why nearly 100 cities and agencies are opposing the LAX expansion: There are already too many travelers crammed into an airport that is constrained by homes, the San Diego Freeway and Santa Monica Bay. The frustration we all experience when using LAX stems from the lack of promised mitigations from three previous expansions.
Recently, reports have come out from distinguished academic and aviation professionals indicating that the economic benefits of an expanded LAX are not significant and there are serious potential impacts on minority communities affected by airport noise from LAX. These studies point to diverting flights to regional airports as a way of minimizing negative impacts instead of jamming more and more people into an already too-busy airport on the west side of the county.
It’s time for the people pushing the LAX Master Plan to realize that this plan is dead and a more realistic, fair and reasonable plan must be developed. LAX must be limited to its current footprint, and a regional master plan for all our Los Angeles airports is long overdue.
RUTH GALANTER
President pro tempore
Los Angeles City Council
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