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LAX Modernization ... A National Project

March 12, 2013

by Gary Toebben

Yesterday, 150 business and community leaders from Los Angeles arrived in Washington, D.C. for meetings with members of Congress and the Obama Administration on issues of priority to the City and County of Los Angeles. The delegates were part of ACCESS Washington, D.C., the Chamber's annual advocacy trip with partnering organizations to our nation's Capitol.


One of the first meetings on Monday was with Michael Huerta, the administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Chamber leaders briefed Huerta on the progress of a plan to modernize the Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and he was excited about the report. 

"The north airfield of LAX has been a concern of the FAA for many years," Huerta said. "It is essential to separate the two runways and create a taxiway for large aircraft to eliminate excursions. We regard this improvement at LAX as a project of national importance."

During the next month, the Airport Land Use Commission of the County of Los Angeles and the Los Angeles City Council will both have the opportunity to approve the LAX long range plan adopted by the Airport Board of Commissioners. This will be an important step forward for the City and County of Los Angeles because of the jobs that will be created and the new visitors it will bring to our community. It will also be a major safety and capacity improvement for our national aviation infrastructure, all without any cost to the taxpayers of Los Angeles.

This week in Washington, D.C. our delegation will be emphasizing to Congress and the White House the key role that Los Angeles plays in the economy of our nation. Administrator Huerta already understands that relationship and is urging us to do our part by moving forward on the modernization of LAX. We agree. It is time to act. 

And that's The Business Perspective.

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I am a longtime Los Angeles resident who travels frequently throughout the US for business. As a major US city, Los Angeles has one of the most outdated airports in the country. We need to bring it into the 21st Century.
Posted by: Marguerite Rangel @ 9:33:00 am
Agree that upgrading the airport to better facilitate safety is a critical need. The traffic flow in the horseshoe is likely to always be a bottleneck unless someone does some out of the box thinking. Two potential suggestions. I also travel to DC regularly and prefer DCA as the on-site metro rail station makes ground transport simple. Similarly with SFO, and I note that Oakland is pursuing an on-site BART station. LAX should be similarly connected.

Also, finding a way to reduce bus traffic on the horseshoe is likely the best way to better facilitate car traffic at the location. A dedicated rail system to get people to remote car rental and parking facilities would be really helpful.

Note that both suggestions would also provide significant environmental benefits while also improving the travel and business climate. Such synergies are all too rare. Finally, it seems like the cost of such installations could be fully user funded.
Posted by: Frank Harris @ 9:24:00 am
This letter is incorrect. Studies have shown that there are, in fact, no safety concerns with the current positioning of the north runway. Modernization can take place without moving the runway and ruining the surrounding neighborhoods, destroying businesses and increasing air traffic into and out of LAX (the true reason for moving the runway).
Posted by: Martha Spelman @ 9:15:00 am