Plan gives Palmdale short shrift again

Editorial Focus: The newly released Los Angeles World Airports Master Plan draft still falls far short of providing any real action in developing Palmdale Airport.

"LAWA is fully committed to developing Palmdale Regional Airport," the report said in a question-and-answer segment. It's the kind of promise that politicians make during a campaign but never really act on.

We have been waiting nearly 33 years for some real action in Palmdale. Do we have to wait another third of a century before something concrete is done?

The report also said:

"After concluding a detailed analysis of the airport's potential in 1999, LAWA entered into a Cooperation Agreement with the City of Palmdale and formed the Palmdale Working Group. This group is currently developing work plans so that Palmdale, along with the recently expanded Ontario Airport, can assume a larger share of the region's growing air traffic demands in the years to come.

"Key to attracting commercial carriers to provide meaningful service at Palmdale will be encouraging market demand through transportation infrastructure improvements. LAWA has been and continues to be an outspoken advocate for major highway improvements and high-speed rail serving Palmdale and the Antelope Valley."

If LAWA waits for high-speed rail before anything substantial is done at Palmdale, we probably are looking another 33 years down the tracks.

In the early 1990s, LAWA was focused only on expansion of Los Angeles International Airport. One proposal called for development of a new runway extending out into Santa Monica Bay.

In 1998, LAWA officials said they support assisting Palmdale and the Antelope Valley with infrastructure near Palmdale Regional Airport, but they don't see a big regional role for the airport any time soon - possibly not for 20 years.

The new draft of the Master Plan is somewhat more optimistic, but the timetable for development at Palmdale is still very much up in the air.

Following a great hue and cry from communities in the vicinity of LAX, the proposal to build a new runway was deleted.

A news release states that the new plan "assumes the LAX share of regional passenger service will drop sharply from 75% to less than 60% as other airports take on increasing flight loads over the next 15 years."

The staff recommendation would increase LAX's average daily flights in 2015 by only about 4% over 1996 baseline levels.

But government leaders and citizens who live near LAX are highly skeptical about those projections.

In short, the initial draft of the LAWA Master Plan is extremely shortsighted in terms of the Palmdale airport.

The documents relating to the Master Plan are available at the Palmdale Regional Airport office, 39516 25th St. East.

The plan's comment period will run for 180 days.

Antelope Valley supporters of developing Palmdale Airport sooner rather than later must make their voices heard at every hearing on the plan. The people who drafted the plan are still operating under the gross misconception that Palmdale is "remote."

The fact is that Palmdale is much more accessible for 3 million people than LAX is. Ground access could be improved easily by establishing scheduled bus runs from the Mission Hills area, decades before there will be high-speed rail service.

We are weary of having Palmdale Airport - which can be easily developed for both passengers and cargo handling - being denigrated decade after decade.

Let's get on with the project that was announced in 1968.