Airport task force postpones rail vote

The vote by Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) aviation task force, which was set for Thursday at SCAG headquarters, would have approved a plan to study alternatives to expanding LAX to handle increased air passenger traffic in the coming decades.

The vote was delayed because the task force did not reach a twothirds attendance to have a quorum.

According to SCAG figures, air traffic in the Southern California region is expected to double by 2020.

The alternatives will be part of a document to be released in March. That document will set the stage for what will be analyzed in SCAG's regional transportation plan update in 2001.

SCAG's regional transportation plan is a forward looking document that assists with infrastructure planning in Southern California to the year 2020.

The vote by the task force also would decide whether to study establishing a rail link between Palmdale, LAX, Van Nuys, Los Angeles Union Station and possibly the Inland Empire.

SCAG was granted $2 million by the Federal Aviation Administration for studying a rail linkage as a way to encourage air travel at outlying regional airports, such as the one in Palmdale.

The proposals are expected to be taken up at the next meeting, scheduled for 10 a.m., Oct. 28 in Los Angeles at SCAG headquarters.