LAX MASTER PLAN TO BE RELEASED TO THE PUBLIC JANUARY 18; PUBLIC REVIEW PERIOD SCHEDULED FOR UNPRECEDENTED 180 DAYS

(Los Angeles, California – December 12, 2000) -- A comprehensive draft master plan that would guide future development of Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) will be released January 18 and will be available for public review for an unprecedented 180 days, Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA) officials announced today.

John J. Agoglia, president of the Los Angeles Board of Airport Commissioners, said the normal comment period for the accompanying Environmental Impact Report and Environmental Impact Statement is 45 days. "We are granting four times the normal period for public review because this is an unprecedented project with broad economic consequences for the five-county region LAX serves."

LAWA Executive Director Lydia H. Kennard said, "The draft LAX Master Plan is of crucial importance to the entire Los Angeles region and we want to give the public ample time to study and comment on it without the distraction of the holiday season."

When the draft master plan is released, it will announce a series of dates for formal joint public hearings with the Federal Aviation Administration. Commission President Agoglia said LAWA will provide extensive information to the public about the draft plan. He added that LAWA also will make every effort to facilitate public input before it is finalized and goes before the Airport Commission and the Los Angeles City Council for approval.

Copies of the master plan and environmental documentation will be widely circulated and be available in regional libraries and other locations, as well as on a LAWA website, www.laxmasterplan.org

"LAX is Los Angeles’ portal to the world and absolutely vital to our city's economic health and progress," said Mayor Richard J. Riordan. "Its modernization will make our airport an even better experience for the millions of people who travel through it every year. Preserving its ability to function smoothly and efficiently while still protecting our airport's neighbors is as necessary and fundamental as keeping our local roads and water systems in top working order."

LAWA Executive Director Kennard said, "We have an obligation to build a better, more efficient LAX. We have no choice but to modernize this valuable public asset. The times demand it and the consequences of doing nothing are unacceptable." She added, "About 20 percent of this region’s $500-billion economy can be traced to the direct and indirect impacts of LAX. LAX accounts directly for more than 400,000 jobs in the region and generates $61 billion in direct regional economic activity every year. With the master plan, regional economic activity connected to LAX will grow to $82 billion a year. Further, the modernization project will create 87,000 new construction jobs over the next 15 years."

Last modernized before the 1984 Olympic Games, LAX was designed to accommodate 40 million passengers annually, but this year the airport is handling about 65 million passengers. "If the Master Plan is not approved, we will nevertheless continue to grow to about 79 million passengers per year," Commission President Agoglia said. "With that growth and no modernization, we are destined to have gridlock on the streets and freeways in the area, even more overcrowded terminals, jammed parking lots, and increased flight delays. I don’t think anyone wants that."

Agoglia pointed out that "LAWA does not have the legal authority to turn away air traffic and that LAX’s growth is inevitable, whether we prepare for it or not."

A significant part of the draft master plan will provide $2 billion to $3 billion in projects to improve ground transportation access to LAX including:

• A new airport expressway off the San Diego Freeway (I-405)
• A ring road connected to the expressway and the Century Freeway (I-105) that will take passengers directly to a new western terminal
• Extension of the Metro Rail Green Line to the new terminal
• A people-mover within the airport to take passengers from parking lots to terminals

"This master plan is a thorough blueprint for the modernization of LAX," concluded LAWA’s Kennard. "It ensures the airport will continue its pivotal role in responding to the region’s extraordinary growth in air travel."

Los Angeles World Airports is a self-supporting department of the City of Los Angeles, which owns and operates a system of four airports: Los Angeles International, Ontario International, Palmdale Region, and Van Nuys.