HomeDiagramsDatabaseMapsForum About
     

Go Back   SkyscraperPage Forum > Discussion Forums > Transportation


Reply

 
Thread Tools Display Modes
     
     
  #81  
Old Posted May 20, 2009, 7:16 AM
LosAngelesSportsFan's Avatar
LosAngelesSportsFan LosAngelesSportsFan is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Los Angeles
Posts: 7,838
Quote:
Originally Posted by Westsidelife View Post
^ Did you look at the presentation? It's made clear that there wouldn't be any stops.
well, there are several options they are looking at for connections to LAX and Union Station.

One was a direct route to Union station via the LA River, the other was with a connection to the Gold Line or the downtown connector.

At LAX, the two options were a connection to the people mover or a direct stop at the airport.
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #82  
Old Posted May 20, 2009, 7:31 AM
Quixote's Avatar
Quixote Quixote is offline
Inveterate Angeleno
 
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Los Angeles
Posts: 7,474
^ The LAX Express proposal has always been a nonstop rail link between LAUS and LAX. Page 13 shows an express route with zero stops in between. Note, there are two (!) stations planned within the CTA itself!
__________________
“To tell a story is inescapably to take a moral stance.”

— Jerome Bruner
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #83  
Old Posted May 20, 2009, 7:59 AM
Quixote's Avatar
Quixote Quixote is offline
Inveterate Angeleno
 
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Los Angeles
Posts: 7,474
I'd also like to point out that the people mover connection at Century/Aviation could very well be part of the Ground Transportation Center (GTC), a remnant of the old LAX Master Plan. In addition to providing the necessary rail connections to relieve the traffic situation, one option is to close off the CTA to all private vehicles and instead have all curbside pick-up and drop-off operations accomplished at the off-site GTC. The new facility would sit at the northeast corner of Century/Aviation, a huge lot covering 1/4 square miles. It was once home to a collection of dense apartment complexes, but they have since been demolished. With the closure of the CTA to all private vehicles, the parking structures in the CTA would be demolished and replaced with passenger processing facilities, like the one you see in the current TBIT expansion proposal. This would create more efficient baggage screening and security operations, more concessions, and of course, more personal space.

So, as you can see, there's a lot on the table.
__________________
“To tell a story is inescapably to take a moral stance.”

— Jerome Bruner
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #84  
Old Posted May 20, 2009, 8:35 AM
edluva edluva is offline
BANNED
 
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: Los Angeles
Posts: 6,134
i wonder what the likelihood would be of transferring all public and private vehicular traffic to the GTC. it that were possible, it would be a shame if we still went with the current fentress proposal, which obviously does not account for closure of the CTA to all through traffic (obviating the need for the u road as well as parking), and thus does not integrate the passenger processing center and TBIT into a single building.
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #85  
Old Posted May 21, 2009, 7:09 PM
Quixote's Avatar
Quixote Quixote is offline
Inveterate Angeleno
 
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Los Angeles
Posts: 7,474
Airport Commission Contemplates Parking Lot Purchase

By Art Marroquin, Staff Writer
May 20, 2009

Los Angeles World Airports is negotiating the purchase of a 21-acre parking lot as part of a transaction that could exceed $100 million, and some are speculating whether the land is ripe for other uses.

Park 'N Fly at Park One, located just east of Terminal 1 at Los Angeles International Airport, was put up for sale by San Francisco-based AMB Properties Corp., which has owned the property for seven years, according to David Hasbrouck, executive vice president of Cushman & Wakefield, the agency representing the sellers.

The Los Angeles Board of Airport Commissioners discussed the potential purchase during a closed session meeting on Monday, but no action was taken. The seven-member panel and the Los Angeles City Council would ultimately decide whether to approve the entire transaction.

LAWA executives declined to comment, citing ongoing discussions with the property owner.

Los Angeles City Councilman Bill Rosendahl, whose district includes LAX, also declined to comment.

Los Angeles City Councilwoman Janice Hahn said she supported the possible purchase because airport-area land is hard to come by.

"I think this opens up a lot of choices and possibilities," said Hahn, who chairs the council committee that oversees LAX.

"We know we have to modernize this airport," she said. "Maybe this property will give us options."

The possible land grab comes as the airport agency has struggled with a yearlong decline in passenger volumes and projected a slight drop in operating expenses for the next fiscal year.

"It's interesting because the land has been available for about 25 years and one has to wonder why LAX has this sudden need to buy it with little advance notice or community involvement," said aviation consultant Jack Keady of Playa del Rey.

Before it was turned into a parking lot in the early 1990s, the property was home to Garrett AiResearch, a military contractor that manufactured aerospace products.

Since then, the parking lot has been up for sale at least three times, according to two airport sources close to the deal who requested anonymity.

Each time, LAWA had an opportunity to purchase the land, but passed when it was deemed too expensive - even when it was offered for less that $30 million at one point, the sources said.

Even though negotiators say the selling price could exceed $100 million, the property has an assessed value of about $83 million, according to public records.

"It's unfortunate that we let it go the first time it was available," Hahn said. "It does seem like a lot of money, but I hope they can get the price down a bit."

The airport agency has always kept an eye on the parking lot and drew up a series of potential uses for nearly two decades. The possibilities included maintaining the land as a parking lot, turning it into a passenger drop-off zone or building an entirely new airline terminal, given it's close proximity to the airport, according to LAX sources.

But costs could run high to convert the land into use for airline passengers. The property has limited uses in its current state and would have to undergo a massive clean-up effort that could cost millions of dollars, given its prior incarnation as a manufacturing plant for aerospace products.

Additionally, the airport is barred from adding contact gates so that traffic levels do not exceed 78.9 million passengers until 2020, under the terms of a legal settlement reached in December 2005.

"They could keep it as a parking lot, but it doesn't make sense given the price of the property," Keady said. "There are a lot of questions about this but we have to remember that the gate cap will be lifted in about 10 years. In the grand scheme of things, it's not that far away."
__________________
“To tell a story is inescapably to take a moral stance.”

— Jerome Bruner
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #86  
Old Posted May 21, 2009, 10:09 PM
edluva edluva is offline
BANNED
 
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: Los Angeles
Posts: 6,134
^just emphasizes how early in the process we are. it'll be a long time til we're walking through a modernized lax
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #87  
Old Posted May 22, 2009, 7:50 AM
StethJeff's Avatar
StethJeff StethJeff is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: May 2007
Location: Los Angeles
Posts: 2,068
Maybe someone with better image editing skills can post a map of LAX with the location of this parking lot. But anyway, the location seems perfect as an expansion option for a possible Terminal 0.
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #88  
Old Posted May 29, 2009, 9:17 PM
Quixote's Avatar
Quixote Quixote is offline
Inveterate Angeleno
 
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Los Angeles
Posts: 7,474
LAX Aims to Put Shopping, Eating on More Flight Plans

Officials hope to lift the airport's image of having mediocre offerings. Plans call for renovating the bars, fast-food outlets, restaurants, newsstands and retail shops inside eight terminals.

By Dan Weikel
May 28, 2009

When Clifton Moore ran the Los Angeles airport system from 1968 to 1993, there wasn't much emphasis on dining and shopping for people waiting for their planes at LAX. About all they could get were the basics: a newspaper, a cup of coffee, cafeteria fare and a preflight libation.

The mantra was "We are an airport, not a shopping mall," and people on the staff were proud that Los Angeles International Airport had the least concession space of any major airport in the United States.

Not anymore. Although the room devoted to beverage, food and retail services at the nation's third-busiest airport remains comparatively small, LAX officials say they now want to offer the traveling public more than they ever have from concessions.

Los Angeles World Airports has launched an ambitious effort -- the first since 1995 -- to renovate the bars, fast-food outlets, restaurants, newsstands and shops inside eight terminals, which handled about 50.7 million passengers last year.

This month, the Board of Airport Commissioners requested bids for services at 42 sites in Terminals 4, 5, 7 and 8 as well as a commuter airline facility. Proposals are due in September.

Another round of bidding for Terminals 1, 3 and 6 is expected by year's end. Concessions at the Tom Bradley International Terminal will be addressed later during a planned expansion and modernization.

"We want more variety, more dining and beverage opportunities, and better-quality food and service," said Gina Marie Lindsey, executive director of the airport agency. "We need more cutting-edge, more contemporary and more L.A.-centric approaches."

The airport now has well-known brands such as Wolfgang Puck, Karl Strauss and California Pizza Kitchen, but those concessions, officials say, are almost 15 years old and need updating.

Airport officials also want to reduce their reliance on a handful of master concessionaires, such as HMS Host Corp., Delaware North Cos. and Hudson Group, which have been hired on long-term contracts to manage nearly all the beverage, food, retail services and bookstores at the airport.

Their idea is to break the umbrella contracts into individual packages for beverages, fast-food, casual dining, newsstands and shopping. Although large concessionaires can compete for those packages, officials say, the change in philosophy should create opportunities for smaller local businesses to bid on contracts, which could result in better quality, more variety and lower prices for travelers.

"The plan is to get people out of their seats at the gates and into the restaurants and retail stores," said Amy Shaw, who is directing the renovation of concessions.

Food and retail services at LAX have repeatedly received average and below-average marks from passengers interviewed for audits and consumer surveys, such as those conducted by J.D. Power & Associates. The preliminary results of a current in-house survey of travelers are equally downbeat.

"It's average at best," said Michael Young, 35, of Los Angeles, who travels regularly out of LAX. "Even when they try to do nice, like at Wolfgang Puck, it is still average. Change would be good. The concessions lack freshness all the way around."

Although they like such mainstays as Starbucks and McDonald's, passengers also complain that prices are too high, there are not enough choices for food and beverages, and the concessions don't reflect Los Angeles.

"There's some good stuff in the airport. But with the ocean and Venice nearby, you'd think there would be something 'beachy,' like a skate shop or surf-related company," said Elan Crews, 38, of Oakland, who flew to Los Angeles this month to visit friends.

Airport officials say another reason concessions have not lived up to their potential is the lack of space compared with 16 other major airports in the U.S. As such, retail shops and restaurants at LAX can become crowded quickly or develop long lines at sales counters, which can deter shoppers.

The conditions led auditors for K.H. Consulting Group to conclude last year that the planned renovation would give airport officials a chance "to replace a dated and uninteresting drag on LAX's image and transform the airport into a modern, first-class facility."

LAX concessions "are not where they need to be," said Craig Banikowski, president of the Los Angeles Business Travel Assn. "You must invest capital to make improvements and address changing tastes and styles. Business travelers are not what they were 20 years ago."

If successful, the overhaul could boost revenue for LAX, which has been stung by one of the worst downturns in the history of the airline industry. Although hit hard by the economy, concessions remain big business at major airports at home and abroad, generating 40% to 50% of their revenue. Last year, LAX made about $280 million from concessions, more than half from parking and rental cars.

There is considerable room to improve, however. As of last July, eight other major U.S. airports, including those in San Francisco, Seattle-Tacoma and Miami, had higher sales per passenger. The average passenger at San Francisco International spent the most -- almost $11 -- while the typical traveler at LAX spent almost $8.

The go-local approach to concessions has been relatively successful at Denver International Airport, where businesses bid on each of more than 100 concession sites. The result provided travelers with a variety of concessions, including popular national franchises such as Starbucks and McDonald's and recognizable local brands such as Boulder Beer and the Denver ChopHouse & Brewery.

Patrick Heck, a deputy manager in charge of revenue development at the Denver airport, said concession earnings had grown faster than inflation and the increase in passengers. The airport took in about $250 million in concession revenue last year.

"It's been fairly well received. People seem satisfied with it," Heck said. "Our concession programs have done OK in terms of revenue, though we are not blowing it away."

Denver, however, received below-average ratings for food and retail services in last year's J.D. Power consumer survey, representing a slow decline over several years. Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, which also used the go-local approach, has received marks similar to those of LAX.

Heck said that many of Denver's concessions, like LAX's, are almost 15 years old and "a little dated," but he does not fault the philosophy of attracting popular local brands. "I would take this approach again," Heck said.
__________________
“To tell a story is inescapably to take a moral stance.”

— Jerome Bruner
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #89  
Old Posted Jun 4, 2009, 5:13 AM
Quixote's Avatar
Quixote Quixote is offline
Inveterate Angeleno
 
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Los Angeles
Posts: 7,474
Minor news...

L.A. Council Approves Design Firm for LAX Bradley West Project

From staff reports
June 3, 2009

The Los Angeles City Council on Wednesday approved a $10.9 million contract with the Phoenix-based venture of Austin Commercial and Walsh to provide preconstruction services for the extension of the Tom Bradley International Terminal at Los Angeles International Airport.

The new facility, dubbed "Bradley West," is expected to be completed by 2014 at a cost of $1.5 billion.

In a related move, the City Council's Trade, Commerce and Tourism Committee on Wednesday agreed to award an additional $51.2 million to Denver-based Fentress Architects to provide more designs for the Bradley West project.

The revised contract, now worth $92.7 million and set to expire in May 2015, calls on Fentress to draw up plans for the federal inspection and shopping areas within the expanded Bradley terminal. Fentress will also be charged with designing a new central utility plant that will provide an improved heating and cooling system for LAX.
__________________
“To tell a story is inescapably to take a moral stance.”

— Jerome Bruner
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #90  
Old Posted Jun 4, 2009, 9:36 AM
edluva edluva is offline
BANNED
 
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: Los Angeles
Posts: 6,134
^i'm taking it the acquisition of that parking lot isn't playing drastically into fentress' original plans for lax then...oh well. having the cake is good enough for me
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #91  
Old Posted Jun 23, 2009, 7:23 AM
Quixote's Avatar
Quixote Quixote is offline
Inveterate Angeleno
 
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Los Angeles
Posts: 7,474
City Council Gives $51.2 Million More to Architect for LAX Design Work

June 16, 2009

The Los Angeles City Council on Tuesday awarded an additional $51.2 million to Denver-based Fentress Architects to provide more designs for the extended Tom Bradley International Terminal at Los Angeles International Airport.

The revised contract, now worth $92.7 million and set to expire in May 2015, call on Fentress to draw up plans for the federal inspection and shopping areas within the new facility, dubbed "Bradley West."

Fentress also will be tasked with designing a new central utility plant that will provide an improved heating and cooling system for LAX.
__________________
“To tell a story is inescapably to take a moral stance.”

— Jerome Bruner
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #92  
Old Posted Jun 23, 2009, 7:28 AM
Quixote's Avatar
Quixote Quixote is offline
Inveterate Angeleno
 
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Los Angeles
Posts: 7,474
Airport Board OKs $126.5M for Parking Lot

From staff reports
June 22, 2009

The Board of Airport Commissioners on Monday agreed to spend $126.5 million to buy a 20-acre parking lot adjacent to Los Angeles International Airport, but the City Council is expected to debate the purchase over the next several weeks.

Two appraisals in February valued the Park 'N Fly at Park One lot for as low as $108 million and as high as $120 million. The parking lot, located just east of Terminal 1, has been up for sale at least two other times over the Past 20 years, but Los Angeles World Airports passed up on the purchase each time. Airport officials said they hope to close the deal by the end of July.

"This has been a long and difficult negotiation," commission President Alan Rothenberg said. "LAWA did not have the foresight to grab it the last time it was up for sale. So I'm glad we were able to strike when it was on the market this time."

Airport officials said the price reflects the property's current value as a parking lot, even though San Francisco-based AMB Properties had tried to sell it at a higher price.

Los Angeles City Councilwoman Janice Hahn said she had hoped for a better deal, considering the national real estate downturn.

"It seems like a lot of money, but hopefully the airport will make a case for why this parking lot is so valuable," said Hahn, who chairs the council committee that oversees LAX.

LAWA is expected to collect $8.2 million in rent from Park 'N Fly in the next fiscal year. The parking lot operator's lease is set to expire at the end of 2012.
__________________
“To tell a story is inescapably to take a moral stance.”

— Jerome Bruner
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #93  
Old Posted Jun 23, 2009, 7:31 AM
Quixote's Avatar
Quixote Quixote is offline
Inveterate Angeleno
 
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Los Angeles
Posts: 7,474
American Facilities to Be Razed in LAX Modernization

From staff reports
June 22, 2009

A portion of American Airlines' operations at Los Angeles International Airport will be moved this year so that a modernization project can be completed under a plan approved Monday by the Board of Airport Commissioners.

Los Angeles World Airports - the agency that operates LAX - will demolish several facilities used by American Airlines, including an employee parking lot. The space is needed for the airport's ongoing cross-field taxiway project, which will accommodate super-jumbo jets landing at LAX.

In return, American Airlines will receive four so-called "preferential gates" when the new Bradley West terminal is completed in 2013, along with a new 13.8-acre employee parking lot just west of the airport terminals. Additionally, American Eagle's operations will be transferred in January to a commuter facility formerly operated by United Airlines, located just east of Terminal 8.

LAWA will also give $21 million worth of relocation funds to American Airlines for improvements to the new facilities.
__________________
“To tell a story is inescapably to take a moral stance.”

— Jerome Bruner
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #94  
Old Posted Jul 9, 2009, 6:22 AM
Quixote's Avatar
Quixote Quixote is offline
Inveterate Angeleno
 
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Los Angeles
Posts: 7,474
LA Council Orders LAX to Study Green Line Extension

By Art Marroquin, Staff Writer
July 8, 2009

The Metro Green Line might finally wind its way down to the terminals at Los Angeles International Airport, thanks to the recent purchase of an adjacent 20-acre parking lot that's ripe for use.

The Los Angeles City Council's Trade, Commerce and Tourism Committee on Wednesday directed airport officials to spend the next six months studying whether it's possible to bring the light rail line directly to LAX by building a stop on the site of the Park 'N Ride at Park One lot, located just east of Terminal One.

The Board of Airport Commissioners agreed last month to buy the parking lot for $126.5 million. The full City Council is expected to sign off on the expenditure by Friday.

"It's a no-brainer that every major airport has a rail line going into it," said Los Angeles City Councilman Bill Rosendahl, whose district includes LAX.

The Green Line's estimated $200 million, two-mile extension would likely be funded by Measure R. Los Angeles County voters approved the half-cent county sales tax measure, which went into effect last week and is expected to generate $40 billion for local transportation projects over the next 30 years.

As part of their research, airport officials will dust off and update a report completed more than a decade ago, examining whether to bring the Green Line to LAX.

"We really want this to be the premier study to say yes, this is feasible and here's how it's going to happen," said Councilwoman Janice Hahn, who chairs the council committee that oversees LAX.

"If we don't make it accessible, people won't use it," Hahn said. "It's time to right that wrong for the public."

The Green Line, running 20 miles from Norwalk to Redondo Beach, opened in 1995 at a cost of $700 million.

For now, the Green Line's stop at Aviation Boulevard drops passengers two miles away from LAX, forcing travelers to board a bus to complete a trip to the airport.

The rail line's missing link should connect "deep into the heart of the airport," Councilman Tom LaBonge said.

The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority's current plan calls for extending the Green Line to nearby Manchester Square, allowing travelers to board a proposed people mover to gain access to airport terminals.

The MTA had initially called for extending the Green Line to LAX by 2015, but officials announced last year that the project won't likely be completed until 2018 at the earliest.

But MTA officials on Wednesday said they would welcome input from airport and city officials who want to use the airport-adjacent parking lot as a new Green Line stop.

"We're working with the airport in creating a better link to the terminals, but this is a new proposal to us," said Roderick Diaz of the MTA's South Bay planning department.

"We'd have to examine various possibilities to bring the line to the terminals," Diaz said. "But this is an interesting alternative to pursue."

Airport Commission President Alan Rothenberg said the Park One property will continue to operate as a parking lot as officials study all potential uses, including a new consolidated car rental office.

"You have a privately owned piece of property within the footprint of LAX and it's a shame we didn't acquire it the last time it was on the market," Rothenberg said. "It's clear that it should be part of LAX."
__________________
“To tell a story is inescapably to take a moral stance.”

— Jerome Bruner
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #95  
Old Posted Jul 13, 2009, 9:05 AM
Quixote's Avatar
Quixote Quixote is offline
Inveterate Angeleno
 
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Los Angeles
Posts: 7,474
Just for the heck of it...

Work on LAX Icon Will Be Done by Fall

By Art Marroquin, Staff Writer
July 12, 2009

The web of scaffolding surrounding the Theme Building is slowly disappearing, but officials at Los Angeles International Airport said the ongoing $15.2 million effort to shore up the iconic structure won't be completed until fall.

Renovations to the structure's steel bars and stucco walls will finally come to an end in September, more than two years after a 1,000-pound chunk of plaster fell from the top of the building.

Airport and architecture aficionados can also look forward to the reopening of the Theme Building's observation deck by October, according to Michael Molina, LAX's senior director of external affairs.

The rooftop platform was closed after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

"Many people asked us to consider reopening the observation deck," Molina said. "It's been a tradition for many families to drop off a loved one at the airport, then climb up to the deck to watch the plane depart, and they can start doing that again this fall."

The Theme Building opened in 1961 and was designated a city cultural and historic monument in 1992, meaning it cannot be significantly altered. That has posed a challenge to construction crews charged with installing much-needed seismic upgrades, along with improvements that meet standards set by the Americans With Disabilities Act.

Nearly 600 tons of steel still needs to be installed within the main column of the landmark building to counteract any violent motion that may be caused by an earthquake, said LAX spokesman Albert Rodriguez. Additionally, the white stucco wall surrounding the entire building is undergoing seismic retrofitting.

"We have to find a way to get the steel into the Theme Building without altering the look or the structure," Rodriguez said. "It's a tricky thing to do, which is why it's been taking so long."

Signs of disrepair first emerged Feb. 24, 2007, when a stucco slab fell from one of the upper arches and crashed into the structure's main platform, landing just a few feet from the roof of the Space Age-style Encounter Restaurant.

Airport engineers peeled back the white stucco layers and discovered that rust had spread throughout the building's metal support system, likely caused by water that seeped past the plaster seams.

Less than two weeks later, the Theme Building and Encounter Restaurant were closed as a precaution. Since then, restoration work has progressed, albeit slowly.

First, CSA Constructors Inc. removed the building's stucco under a $1.8 million contract, leaving the metal skeleton exposed for months.

Then, Gin Wong Associates was paid $1.5 million to oversee the emergency demolition and hazardous abatement of the Theme Building, along with an additional $2.6 million to draw up plans to rebuild the exterior.

The Encounter Restaurant reopened in November 2007, but panoramic, 360-degree views of the airport from the eatery's windows remained blocked by scaffolding.

The final stretch of construction started last summer, when the airport commission approved a $9.3 million contract with Tower General Contractors to replace the Theme Building's plaster exterior. The firm also installed a mechanical ventilation system within each of the parabolic arches to keep the inner walls dry and minimize corrosion of the metal skeleton.

"The ventilation system is going to be state-of-the art," Rodriguez said. "We don't want water leaking in and ruining the structure again."
__________________
“To tell a story is inescapably to take a moral stance.”

— Jerome Bruner
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #96  
Old Posted Sep 19, 2009, 2:36 AM
Quixote's Avatar
Quixote Quixote is offline
Inveterate Angeleno
 
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Los Angeles
Posts: 7,474


Bradley West at LAX Ready for Takeoff in January

By Adrian Glick Kudler
September 18, 2009

Prepare yourself for some killer airport layout action--Los Angeles World Airports has released a final Environmental Impact Report for the Tom Bradley International Terminal renovation that will turn the terminal into Bradley West (so much sleeker). The proposal, part of the larger LAX Master Plan (all of which is being designed by Fentress Architects), calls for the demolition of the concourses and the construction of two new concourses (north and south) just west them. The US Custom and Border protection area and the concession area in the core of the terminal will both be renovated and enlarged, and there will be new corridors for security-cleared passengers to travel between Terminals 3 and 4 and Bradley. There will be nine new gates, some relocation and consolidation of gates, and some taxiways will be moved west.

The Argonaut reports that the plan is to start construction on the new north concourse in January, to be completed in January 2012, with the south concourse done in September or October 2012, and the core building in April 2013.

The Argonaut also has news of current construction action at Bradley--part of the north side lower arrivals level is closed through January 21 for renovations, which "include new glass paneling, curved LED (light emitting-diode) media and entertainment zones and modern storefronts."












__________________
“To tell a story is inescapably to take a moral stance.”

— Jerome Bruner

Last edited by Quixote; Sep 19, 2009 at 2:48 AM.
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #97  
Old Posted Sep 19, 2009, 3:12 AM
Quixote's Avatar
Quixote Quixote is offline
Inveterate Angeleno
 
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Los Angeles
Posts: 7,474
The actual article from The Argonaut...

LAX

Final EIR for Tom Bradley Terminal reconfiguration and enhancement project released.

By Helga Gendell

The final environmental impact report (FEIR) for the Bradley West Project at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) was released by Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA) officials on Thursday, September 10th.

This final EIR for the reconfiguration and enhancement of the Tom Bradley International Terminal incorporates and responds to comments received on the notice of preparation in the draft EIR, and includes corrections and additions to the draft environmental report.

LAWA — the city agency that operates LAX — the Los Angeles Board of Airport Commissioners and other decision makers will use the FEIR to inform their decisions on the Bradley West Project as is required by the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), according to airport officials.

Mike Doucette, chief of airport planning, stated at a June meeting for the draft EIR that the plan is to have the final report by the end of the year, beginning construction on the north concourse in January, with a completion date of January 2012, and completion for the south concourse by September/October 2012. The main core building behind the Bradley Terminal would be completed by April 2013, he said.

Los Angeles City Councilman Bill Rosendahl, who represents the LAX area in the 11th District, said that many of his constituents had expressed concerns about the proposed temporary northwest contractor parking area planned for Westchester Parkway.

“I agreed with you that this would place an unreasonable traffic burden on Westchester and Playa del Rey, so I asked LAWA to find another solution to its parking needs,” Rosendahl told his constituents.

“I am pleased that this final EIR addresses that concern and selects the west construction staging/parking area to the south of World Way West as the primary parking area for the project.”

Under the “comments and responses” section of the final EIR, airport officials said that to avoid the space constraints and potential congestion of including the parking/staging area near the area assigned to the primary contractor for the Crossfield Taxiway Project, the parking area for the Bradley West Project would be established in the southern end of the west construction staging area, and officials would develop a southern access route to the proposed parking area.

Such a route would extend from an existing driveway located on the east side of Pershing Drive in Playa del Rey, approximately 1,900 feet south of World Way West.

The subject driveway provides direct northbound access onto Pershing and southbound access onto Pershing via an unsignalized opening in the existing raised median.

That driveway would be widened to provide adequate space for ingress/egress, and the median within Pershing would be modified to create a left-turn pocket for southbound vehicles to turn east into the driveway, officials said.

In addition, LAWA officials said they are evaluating the feasibility of improving the intersection as a signalized “T” intersection with Pershing Drive, enhancing safety for traffic turning left into or out of the driveway.

If this signal were to be implemented, it would be dependent on vehicle activation and minimize the interruption of traffic on Pershing Drive.


Bradley West Project

The existing terminal is approximately one million square feet, and the Bradley West project plans to add another million square feet, an addition which would likely end up being about 700,000 to 800,000 square feet once completed, said Doucette.

This project is the third part of the larger LAX Master Plan.

The first project was the South Airfield Project, which moved the runway 55 feet to the south.

The second project was the Crossfield Taxiway Program, which is currently underway. The taxiway project facilitates movement of some of the Group VI aircraft, such as the Airbus A380, the Boeing B747-8 and the Boeing 787 from the north side to the south side, and includes “remain overnight” aircraft parking.

The Bradley West project includes substantial improvements related to the concourses and central core area of Bradley Terminal. Key elements include construction of new north and south concourses just west of the existing concourses, which would be demolished.

The new concourses would provide larger hold rooms, improved and expanded concessions, airline lounges, passenger corridors and administrative offices.

The project includes construction of nine aircraft gates and associated loading bridge and apron areas along the west side of the new concourses.

Other improvements include relocation and consolidation of existing aircraft gates along the east side of the Bradley Terminal, in conjunction with the demolition of the existing concourses. Ten new aircraft gates, associated loading bridges and apron areas would be constructed along the east side of the new concourses to replace the 12 aircraft gates that currently exist at the terminal.

The existing U.S. Customs and Border Protection areas within the central core of the terminal would be renovated, improved and enlarged. Construction of secure/sterile passenger corridors (areas allowing only passengers who have gone through security clearance and are subject to Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) or airline security requirements) between Terminals 3 and 4 and the Bradley Terminal would take place, connecting them to facilitate passenger access.

Existing Taxiways S and Q, currently located in the area proposed for the new concourse and/or gates, would be relocated westward.

All of the documents for the final EIR are available for public review at the LAWA Administration Building, Airports and Facilities Planning Division, 7301 World Way West, Third Floor, Westchester.

Information, Dennis Quilliam at (310) 646-7614, ext. 1017.

The final EIR for the Bradley West Project is available online: “Projects — Publications” at www.ourlax.org/.
__________________
“To tell a story is inescapably to take a moral stance.”

— Jerome Bruner
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #98  
Old Posted Sep 19, 2009, 3:29 AM
sopas ej's Avatar
sopas ej sopas ej is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: South Pasadena, California
Posts: 6,846
Sweet. LAX needs a major overhaul... though when I watched "Airplane!" the other day, it made me nostalgic; I remember as a small kid LAX's configuration pre-1984 Olympics, when there were few parking structures and the World Way oval was just one level, lined with palm trees.
__________________
"I guess the only time people think about injustice is when it happens to them."

~ Charles Bukowski
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #99  
Old Posted Sep 22, 2009, 1:45 PM
Quixote's Avatar
Quixote Quixote is offline
Inveterate Angeleno
 
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Los Angeles
Posts: 7,474
Airport Commissioners Approve $1.5B Bradley Terminal Upgrade

By Art Marroquin, Staff Writer
September 21, 2009

The Board of Airport Commissioners on Monday approved a $1.5 billion plan aimed at providing more room for overseas travelers and building gates capable of accommodating larger jetliners coming in and out of Los Angeles International Airport.

The massive project, dubbed "Bradley West," is expected to be completed by mid-2013 and funded entirely by the sale of airport bonds, LAX officials said.

"The work that's being proposed is work that needs to be done for the benefit of the city," Airport Commissioner Walter Zifkin said. "What we're embarking on is something that needs to be done."

Plans call for building nine new airline gates at the Tom Bradley International Terminal aimed at serving the next generation of super-sized jumbo jets, including the Airbus A380 and the Boeing 787 Dreamliner.

Two of those gates are scheduled to open by early 2012, when LAX is expected to serve more Airbus A380 flights than any other airport in North America.

The new gates are also expected to reduce the need for requiring A380 passengers to use "remote gates" located at the west end of the airport, officials said. Travelers using the faraway gates must catch a shuttle to the Bradley terminal, where they are screened by federal authorities.

Several international carriers, including Qantas Airways, had said they would pull A380 service from LAX if the airport continued using the remote gates. Airport officials partially addressed that concern last year, when one gate was immediately reconfigured at the Bradley terminal.

"Qantas and some of the other airlines wanted to make sure we had a plan that would serve the A380 without using those remote gates, and we're giving them a better plan than what they ever asked for," said Los Angeles City Councilwoman Janice Hahn, who chairs the council committee that oversees LAX.

Additionally, the Bradley terminal's old concourse area will be demolished to make way for two entirely new concourses on the north and south sides of the building, leading to the addition of 1 million square feet for ticketing desks, baggage claim areas, security screening, lounges, shops and restaurants.

An expanded federal customs inspection area will be built at the Bradley terminal, along with a pair of secured corridors connecting with Terminals 3 and 4 to provide easier access for airline passengers needing to catch another flight.

Plans also call for relocating a pair of taxiways, which will lead to demolishing the American Eagle Commuter Terminal. A new lease approved earlier this year calls for moving American Eagle's commuter operations to a vacant terminal just east of Terminal 8.

The Bradley West project now goes to the City Council for final consideration.

"This airport is the first point many international travelers will see when they come into the United States, so it's important that we give them something modern," said Los Angeles City Councilman Bill Rosendahl, whose district includes LAX.

Previous plans for LAX were based on projections of a significant increase in travelers and flights, but airport officials and local economists now say the upgrades are needed to improve a long-neglected facility that is routinely criticized as inadequate and dilapidated.

However, international carriers have expressed concerns about paying higher fees to pay for the upgrades to the Bradley terminal, especially as passenger numbers continue to dwindle nationwide amid the ongoing economic recession.

LAX, which was designed to handle 40 million passengers annually, has suffered its own share of severe declines over the last two years. The airport served 68 million travelers at its peak in 2000, but that number dropped to 59.5 million passengers in 2008, and is anticipated to decline even further by the end of this year.

"All the international airlines are struggling and having a hard time, no matter if you go to Asia or Europe, so anything that smacks of higher costs is something they're afraid of," said Jack Kyser, senior vice president and chief economist of the Los Angeles Economic Development Corp.

"At the same time, they have been calling for changes to Los Angeles International Airport for a long time," Kyser said. "Even though the airline forecast through 2010 is pretty scary, I think that over the long term this project will help us attract more business travelers and international tourists."

A daily round-trip overseas flight at LAX generates $623 million annually and provides 3,120 local jobs, according to an LAEDC report released two years ago.

The city has spent more than $250 million to examine how to upgrade the airport since 1993, when former Mayor Richard Riordan proposed a $12 billion plan that would have expanded the airport's capacity to handle 100 million passengers annually. That plan was set aside when airport neighbors complained that scores of homes and businesses would be demolished.

Then, former Mayor James K. Hahn came up with a $11 billion plan that called for an off-site ground transportation center in Manchester Square, where all passengers and baggage would have been screened. Security experts criticized that plan and said it increased the potential for terrorism because the facility concentrated airline passengers in a single location.

Shortly after taking office in 2005, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa scrapped most of Hahn's proposal and agreed to cap the airport at 78.9 million annual passengers, under the terms of a settlement reached with the county, three cities surrounding LAX and a community group opposed to airport expansion.

On Monday, one of those former opponents lauded the new plan for the Bradley terminal.

"How can we argue with making it safer, nice and more appropriate?" Denny Schneider, president of the Alliance for a Regional Solution to Airport Congestion, told the airport commission.
__________________
“To tell a story is inescapably to take a moral stance.”

— Jerome Bruner
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #100  
Old Posted Sep 22, 2009, 1:51 PM
Quixote's Avatar
Quixote Quixote is offline
Inveterate Angeleno
 
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Los Angeles
Posts: 7,474
Airport Commission Looks to Replace Outdated Elevators, Escalators

By Art Marroquin, Staff Writer
September 21, 2009

The Board of Airport Commissioners on Monday put out a call for bids from companies interested in replacing and repairing 172 outdated elevators, escalators and moving walkways at Los Angeles International Airport.

The move marks the final phase in the airport's overall effort to replace 285 outdated and broken elevators, escalators and moving walkways at LAX by 2012. The equipment, installed 27 years ago, was supposed to have a 25-year life span.
__________________
“To tell a story is inescapably to take a moral stance.”

— Jerome Bruner
Reply With Quote
     
     
This discussion thread continues

Use the page links to the lower-right to go to the next page for additional posts
 
 
Reply

Go Back   SkyscraperPage Forum > Discussion Forums > Transportation
Forum Jump


Thread Tools
Display Modes

Forum Jump


All times are GMT. The time now is 4:31 PM.

     
SkyscraperPage.com - Archive - Privacy Statement - Top

Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.7
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.