"Coalition wants airport in Palmdale"

Saturday, October 14, 2006

Coalition wants airport in Palmdale 
Group to study feasibility of plan
BY DANA BARTHOLOMEW
The Los Angeles (CA) Daily News


VAN NUYS - Travelers who spend hours tied up in traffic en route to LAX need
better runways out of town. 

The answer, some say, lies in a Palmdale airport for passengers and cargo
that would buttress a Southland economy running short of transit options. On
Friday, proponents launched a regional coalition to support a Palmdale
Regional Airport. 

"This is about developing a quality of life that is escaping us," said state
Sen. Richard Alarc n, D-Van Nuys, a leader of the Coalition to Explore the
Development of a New Regional Airport in Palmdale. 

"This group seeks consensus in investing in a transportation system in
Southern California that includes developing a Palmdale airport." 

The bipartisan coalition, led by Alarc n and state Sen. George Runner,
R-Lancaster, will meet four times a year. In addition, four committees will
meet monthly to study airport development options. 

They say the key to winning support for a Palmdale airport is grass-roots
input by residents, airport stakeholders and transit advocates. 

And the linchpin to airport success will be a high-speed corridor from Los
Angeles to Palmdale to lure passengers and cargo from LAX. 

"What will make this airport flourish is a high-speed connection to Los
Angeles and a high-speed link to Union Station," Palmdale Mayor James C.
Ledford told the coalition meeting of about 75 prospective members in Van
Nuys. 

Regional planners say Los Angeles International Airport, which handles most
flights in and out of Southern California, will reach maximum capacity
within a decade. 

Without adequate airports, the region risks losing 130,000 jobs and
$18billion in economic opportunities, said Mark Pisano, executive director
of the Southern California Association of Governments. 

"We really are the anchor of the U.S. to the global world," he said. "If we
can't provide the gateway of support of both the ports and the airports, the
U.S. won't perform effectively in the global marketplace." 

The Palmdale airport coalition will study the scope of an airport, possible
funding sources and how to whisk passengers and cargo in and out of LA.
Ideas include improved Metrolink service, high-speed rail, or a tunnel
through the San Gabriel Mountains.

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