LAX expansion vs. utilizing Plant 42, Palmdale Airport

Adding more passengers, highway and air traffic to LAX is like putting a size-12 foot into a size-2 shoe - it may work with pantyhose but it doesn't work with an airport.

LAX is strapped into a tight 3,500-acre box. It is the smallest major city airport in the United States. With millions of passengers arriving and departing, and nearly 9 million tons of cargo each year, it's vital to have a Los Angeles City Airport Commission with vision.

As we have all experienced, LAX remains a center of traffic and air congestion, noise, pollution delays and safety concerns.

LAX, for instance, has the dubious distinction of being the largest stationary polluter in Los Angeles County, with 17.5 tons per day output of nitrogen dioxide. This is three and a half times the amount put out by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's entire bus fleet.

In the 1960s, the Los Angeles City Airport Commission developed a strategic plan of regional airports to meet the population increase of the '80s and '90s. The City of Los Angeles acquired the 17,000-acre Palmdale Airport site and the Ontario Airport. They have also contracted with the U.S. Air Force for Plant 42 in the Antelope Valley, which is adjacent to the Palmdale Airport site. It has runways, taxiways, ramps and parking. With additional terminal improvements under way, Plant 42 is ready for cargo and airline service - today!

As we enter the 21st century, these airports will effectively provide the regional airports which are essential to the citizens of our county and neighboring communities.

However, instead of implementing the vision to develop and operate regional airports, the city of Los Angeles is spending millions of dollars on a failed, massive Madison Avenue public relations campaign to expand the size of LAX.

Many falsehoods have been spread about the viability of the Antelope Valley airport:

Critics have claimed that adverse altitude and weather conditions make Palmdale unsafe as a major airport. However, Palmdale's elevation of 2,500 feet is actually lower than many successful airports, such as Albuquerque, Denver and Salt Lake City.

Palmdale's temperature extremes, which have also been cited by critics as making it unsuitable, are in fact significantly lower than those at airports in Phoenix, Dallas-Fort Worth and Las Vegas.

Palmdale and Ontario Airports are located in the heart of the fastest-growing areas in California. They would be convenient to the 6.5 million people residing in the Antelope, Santa Clarita, San Fernando, San Gabriel and Pomona Valleys, as well as our neighbors in Ventura, Kern, San Bernardino, Orange and Riverside counties.

Over 3 million people live closer to Palmdale than LAX, and Ontario Airport is currently serving 3 million residents of the San Gabriel and Pomona Valleys.

Now, what's needed from the Los Angeles City Airport Commission is a focused, effective marketing campaign with airlines to inform them about these golden opportunities.

To also help with this effort, the new Los Angeles City Charter, which went into effect July 1, adds two additional seats on the Los Angeles City Airport Commission.

Recently, I had unanimous support from the County Board of Supervisors for my motion requesting that these two additional seats be assigned to representatives from the San Gabriel-Pomona and Antelope Valleys.

Several weeks ago, in Palmdale, was the dedication of Swiss Air's S-Group at S.R. Technics, which will be maintaining the SwissAir Fleet, and contracting with the other major airlines for maintenance work.

Along with creating 6,000 jobs and economic opportunities over the next 10 years, Swiss Air will be a springboard for building commercial air transportation to the Antelope Valley.

Through successful, committed public-private partnerships, such as bringing S.R. Technics to the Antelope Valley, and the full utilization of Plant 42, the development of the Palmdale Airport and the expansion of Ontario Airport, the future of effective regional air and ground transportation in Los Angeles County will be assured.

It is also imperative to have Gov. Gray Davis, the state Legislature and the California Transportation Commission build-out Highways 14 and 138 to improve the Antelope Valley's transportation system. The recent diverting of limited transit funds to build a freeway interchange for a Riverside County casino should have been challenged by the state Legislature.

Congestion, safety and our future airport needs required the Legislature to direct money to upgrade Highways 14 and 138 now - not in 2030.