SOURCE: Long Beach Press-Telegram http://www.presstelegram.com/news/articles/0702/03/new02.asp Published: Wednesday, July 3, 2002 Hahn unveils $10 bil LAX plan By Rick Orlov Staff writer LOS ANGELES - Mayor James Hahn released his $10 billion plan for Los=20 Angeles International Airport on Tuesday, saying it recognizes the=20 reality of the need for more safety and security while addressing=20 objections to expansion. Critics of LAX expansion greeted the mayor's plan with skepticism but=20 said they would work to refine it and make sure it encourages growth at=20= regional airports and not LAX. The massive project, scaled back dramatically from plans by former Mayor=20= Richard Riordan to expand capacity from 78 million to 100 million=20 passengers a year, was developed over the past eight months to recognize=20= the threat of terrorism. "My No.=821 goal was to make it a safer airport," Hahn - who was named=20= head of the U.S. Conference of Mayors committee on airport safety after=20= the Sept. 11 attacks - said Tuesday during a news conference at the LAX=20= heliport. LAX is a major economic boon to the region, providing some 400,000 jobs=20= and generating more than $600 million a year to the local economy, Hahn=20= said. Among his major proposals is developing an off-site facility on 196=20 acres at Manchester Square, where nearly all departing passengers would=20= check in and be taken to a redesigned LAX central terminal area by a=20 five-minute trip on an automated "people mover." "It also would let families and others travel with their loved ones to=20= the airport to take advantage of new concessions and facilities we are=20= planning for the central terminal," Hahn said. That will be accomplished by removing a number of structures, including=20= parking garages in the U-shaped roadway at the center of the terminal=20 complex, to make room for new security equipment being required by the=20= federal government. Car-bus ban The mayor said his plan envisions banning all cars and buses in the=20 central terminal area except for FlyAway buses and emergency vehicles.=20= Also, he calls for eliminating a total of 11 airport gates, relocating=20= two runways and adding taxiing space for airplanes to avoid runway=20 incursions - where aircraft cross in front of one another. The mayor said he also wanted to deal with local political opposition to=20= any increase beyond the present capacity of 78 million passengers a = year. Instead, he said, he wanted to concentrate on how the facility can be=20 improved to be made more efficient. "We don't have to be the tops in passenger traffic to still be the best=20= airport in the country," Hahn said. "We can do it by offering a=20 welcoming experience and being more efficient." Mass transit Other parts of the project call for improving mass-transit access to LAX=20= by building pedestrian bridges to connect the Metropolitan=20 Transportation Authority's Green Line to the people-mover system and the=20= central terminal area. Hahn said the plan also calls for a consolidated rental-car facility,=20 reconfigured roadways around the airport and new parking away from LAX=20= for airport workers. Terminals 1, 2, 3 and part of the Tom Bradley International Terminal=20 would be demolished to make room for relocation of a runway to improve=20= safety. To make up for lost gates, the airport would install a satellite=20= concourse west of the Bradley Terminal, linked to the central terminal=20= area by a people mover. While the mayor's concepts were welcomed by airport operators and some=20= critics, their comments were less than a blanket endorsement of the=20 entire package, which will be subject to a lengthy process of public=20 hearings as it seeks federal approval. Hahn said he hoped construction of the project, expected to take up to=20= 10 years, could begin in late 2003 or early 2004. The proposal will be subject to about six months of public hearings and=20= review before being submitted to the Federal Aviation Administration for=20= final approval, officials said. -- David Mueller / HNL kawika42@mac.com http://www.quanterium.com