State's help in airport effort sought

Editorial Focus: Assemblyman George Runner is working to set up a committee to study airport needs, which could accelerate earlier development at Palmdale.

The Los Angeles World Airports - under the downtown provincial direction of Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan - is hell-bent to expand Los Angeles International Airport from 61 million passengers a year to 100 million.

Runner is working to gain the clout of the great state of California to assist in the 31-year effort to establish a viable commercial airport in Palmdale.

He has asked Assembly Speaker Antonio Villaraigosa and Caltrans to assist in this strategic effort.

Runner is requesting that Villaraigosa, D-Los Angeles, establish an Assembly select committee on California's airports.

Such a committee, Runner said, would study the growth of the state's airports, weighing the feasibility of expanding big-city airports - such as LAX - vs. establishing regional airports, such as one in Palmdale.

The assemblyman from Lancaster could author a bill that would call for a halt of the expansion of the highly congested Los Angeles International Airport. If passed, such legislation would cause other outlaying airports to expand, such as the one in Palmdale. But Runner has taken a more subtle approach.

The fact is that the state of California approved the Palmdale Airport development - not once, but twice - back in the late 1960s and in the 1970s. Obviously, the state has a vested interest in improving transportation modes.

The assemblyman said he is confident if a committee is established, its findings would recommend that the state make efforts to funnel air traffic flow into outer-region airports, such as in Palmdale in north Los Angeles County - where the majority of growth in Southern California is expected to occur in the next 20 years.

Once the airport committee publishes its findings, legislation could be introduced to foster the process. At that point, he said, such legislation could easily gain bipartisan support.

Assemblyman Scott Wildman, D-Burbank, is also interested in examining the alternatives to expanding Burbank's already overcrowded airport. He has sided with Runner in the request to establish an airport committee.

Both men have also expressed interest in serving on the committee.

"There just needs to be an overall plan when it comes to air transportation and cargo," Runner said. "How many people can you put down the 405 Freeway? We just need an objective review and a strategic plan done."

The Valley Press fully supports our assemblyman's efforts in this regard and we would hope that Caltrans would assist in this program in order to alleviate the horrendous traffic count on the San Diego Freeway near LAX, which is going to get even worse in the future.