"Starting over on expanding San Jose's Norman Y. Mineta airport"

Sunday, October 9, 2005

Editorial
Starting over on expanding S.J. airport
The San Jose (CA) Mercury News


The less-expansive expansion plan for San Jose's Norman Y. Mineta
International Airport -- will it now be just Norm Mineta Field? --
recognizes financial reality.

Since an ambitious $4.5 billion design for new terminals and concourses was
first drawn up, the regional economy has stalled, passenger traffic has
stagnated and major airlines have been rerouted into bankruptcy court. A
surcharge on tickets has to pay the construction bills, so the costs have to
be brought in line with lowered projections for passenger traffic.

But it would be a mistake to conclude that a much larger terminal, people
movers and a double-deck roadway will never be needed. Population growth
alone will create a demand for increased air service in coming decades.
That's why we'd hoped the city could stick with its original plan and just
phase it in as money became available.

Since that won't work, it's back to the drawing board. But keep the future
in mind. How will the next expansion work? Growth may be gradual, but there
ought to be a blueprint.

The model of what not to do is the airport's 10-year-old Terminal A. It was
obsolete the day it opened, and there was no convenient way to make the
ticketing area less awkward, let alone larger. The roadway tangle that
accompanied its opening never did get remedied. What was up with that stupid
little driveway you had to catch to get back to the Guadalupe?

If all the new plan does is make Terminal A more practical and make sense of
the road system, it will still be a huge improvement.


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