New Approach at LAX

The city’s Airport Commission took preliminary steps Tuesday toward reopening the access road at Los Angeles International Airport to private vehicles, but postponed final action because of fears of reprisal after American military strikes in Afghanistan.

In a private meeting, the commission voted to approve a new traffic circulation plan that would allow cars back into the heart of the airport, but force them into parking structures to drop off and pick up passengers. Private vehicles would still be banned from parking at the curb on the airport’s lower and upper decks.

Airport officials want to continue to keep private vehicles away from the curb because of a Federal Aviation Administration rule that requires police to evacuate everyone within 300 feet of any vehicle that is left even momentarily unattended.

The enactment date of the new traffic circulation plan remains unclear, as airport security officials remain uneasy about the possibility of terrorist reprisals. The commission agreed to give airport Executive Director Lydia Kennard the final decision about when to reopen the airport roadway to private cars and trucks.

In the month since the terrorist attacks on the East Coast, Los Angeles airport officials have maintained the most stringent controls in the nation on vehicle traffic. Officials chose to keep the ban in place last week on the advice of federal authorities, who said they received new information regarding threats at LAX.

The controversial ban has prompted days of protests by unions and led in part to dramatic revenue losses at the airport.

At Tuesday’s meeting, commissioners announced that the FAA has agreed to waive a restriction on parking within 300 feet of airline terminals, which clears the way for reopening garages and the roadway in the central terminal area.

The FAA issued the waiver after reviewing the results of a 1997 bomb blast study that demonstrated the strength of the airport’s parking structures. When LAX is reopened to private vehicles, however, Parking Structure 6 and surface parking lots will remain closed--leaving about 7,600 spaces of the previous 9,025.

When World Way North and World Way South are reopened to cars, officials will reroute taxis, shuttle buses, commercial vans and limousines to two lanes nearest the curb on the facility’s upper and lower decks. On the lower deck, commercial vehicles will be permitted in three lanes, so they can pick up and drop off passengers on the ring road’s center median. Barriers erected in the middle of the upper deck will keep private vehicles in the left-hand lanes. Cars will be required to enter the parking structures for passenger pickups or drop-offs.

Officials said motorists will be able to park free of charge for 15 minutes at non-metered spaces, to quickly pick up or drop off passengers.

A sharp drop in air travel since the terrorist attacks last month should keep traffic from backing up in the central terminal area when the new plan is enacted, officials said.

“The numbers are considerably less than they were on Sept. 10,” said Michael DiGirolamo, deputy executive director of airport operations. “We’re not anticipating a lot of problems.”

He added that initiatives adopted in the last two years, including an increase in the number of traffic officers and a push to direct drivers who are picking up passengers into the parking structures, should help keep traffic manageable.

The airport agency is also considering a marketing blitz to encourage travelers to take mass transit to the airport and to use a drop-off lot on Airport Boulevard. This lot will remain in operation when LAX is reopened to cars.

In addition, officials said they may also reduce the number of commercial vehicles allowed to use the airport, to prevent backups in lanes nearest the curb. Buses and shuttles often double-park in these lanes--a practice that could lead to serious tie-ups because of the limited number of lanes that will remain for them to maneuver.

Airport police said Tuesday that they are eager to reopen the access road to private vehicles, but added that world events--including threats of retaliation against the United States--require extra caution.

The final decision will be made by airport Executive Director Kennard, in consultation with airport police and other law enforcement agencies.

“We have to look at the totality of the facts and the intelligence information that’s available,” said Bernard J. Wilson, the airport police chief. “Then we’ll apply world issues to local needs and make a decision.”