Bus network: an interim fix for air travel

In 1968, when the Palmdale Intercontinental Airport project was publicly announced, I naively thought the Southland was on its way to taking care of the accelerating growth in airline traffic.

Now it is 2000, and we are getting nowhere.

However, after extensive meditation, I believe I am on the flight path to an interim solution to this monumental and constantly worsening problem.

I'll give you my plan at the end of this item, but first some background:

Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) - which handled 62 million passengers last year - hopes to expand so that it can take care of 90 million travelers annually at some future date. This past week, it was announced that LAX leads the nation in the number of near collisions involving aircraft on its runways.

The radical plan for expansion of LAX has caused a high-decibel tornado of turbulence from citizens who live or work near L.A.'s main airport and are in strong opposition to any more noise or danger than they already are exposed to.

With L.A. Councilwoman Ruth Galanter as chief pilot, the Los Angeles City Council has ordered a study on how best to develop operations at Palmdale Airport.

To get some potential airport users lined up, LAWA and Palmdale signed an agreement in October saying they'd approach the problem on three fronts: marketing, facilities and transportation.

The first draft of the report was presented on April 25. It said that Palmdale Regional Airport could have up to 4 million passengers by 2010, and up to 7 million by 2020. It also suggested that Palmdale could be used for air cargo operations and aircraft maintenance.

(The SR Technics operations on L.A. World Airports property adjacent to Air Force Plant 42 will this summer begin renovation of 25 DC-10s for Federal Express, in cooperation with The Boeing Co. By 2005, the company anticipates employment for as many as 6,000 local workers.)

Councilwoman Galanter, whose 6th Council District is adjacent to LAX, has been a strong supporter of steering L.A. air traffic to Palmdale. She welcomed the Palmdale Airport delegation's report, but scolded the staff for not being further along in their plans.

"I still have a lot of concerns," Galanter said. "You're not thinking big enough. The Southern California growth won't be accommodated anywhere else (but Palmdale)."

"This is where the future is, guys," she said. "There is no other community in Southern California saying they want it," meaning a major regional airport.

County Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich, whose 5th District includes Palmdale, also has been critical of LAWA's efforts in Palmdale.

Los Angeles Councilman Hal Bernson, who represents the San Fernando Valley, said it's inevitable future air traffic will be routed to Palmdale.

"Travel will increase, not decrease," he reasoned. "But you still need to solve the terrible problem of getting there and getting back."

That comment is typical of people who live in the L.A. Basin. They think that Palmdale is to hell and gone. But it isn't!

Although they don't enjoy it, tens of thousands of Antelope Valley commuters make the trip to L.A. and back five days a week.

So here's what I think would be the most viable interim plan to encourage San Fernando, San Gabriel and Santa Clarita valley residents to use the Palmdale Regional Airport.

Buses!

What I mean is scheduled bus routes leaving every two hours - later, every hour - and, eventually, every half-hour.

I propose that L.A. World Airports establish a new parking lot, preferably in the Mission Hills or Granada Hills area. L.A. residents should be able to park their cars there for free and catch the bus to Palmdale - just 45 minutes away.

Then they could fly via a Palmdale-connected carrier to a major hub city. From there, they could catch flights to anywhere in the world.

In addition, Metrolink service could be expanded. Building a spur line to the Palmdale Air Terminal would be relatively inexpensive. In fact, there is a spur just south of Avenue P that could be extended to the terminal.

If we wait until that distant day when high-speed rail comes to the Valley, the Palmdale Regional Airport will never get off the ground.

Of course, those who choose could drive to the Palmdale lot, where parking is free.

Using the bus and Metrolink systems would be far more convenient for San Fernando Valley residents than making their way through the dreaded Sepulveda Pass to the traffic morass near LAX.

Burbank Airport, with only about 465 acres, is virtually maxed out. Plans to expand by an additional 130 acres in order to build a new terminal have recently been delayed for another three years in order to complete an environmental impact report.

(A Southwest Airlines 737 jet carrying 137 passengers and five crew members skidded off the end of a runway at Burbank Airport on March 5 and onto a nearby street, nearly hitting a gas station. Six people suffered minor injuries.)

Most people who live in L.A. think that Antelope Valley is too far away to provide them with convenient air service. But the reality is that it would be far easier for them to fly out of Palmdale than it is to run the gauntlet of the horrible ground-access problems that surround LAX.