Opposition to LAWA s North Runway Complex Expansion Proposal

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Jack Dorsey
6 years ago
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1 Opposition to LAWA s North Runway Complex Expansion Proposal Denny Schneider, President Alliance for a Regional Solution to Airport Congestion DennySchneider@WeLiveFree.com David Voss, Former Airport Commissioner Chair Airport Relations Cmte., Neighborhood Council of Westchester Playa del Rey Chair LAX Coastal Chamber of Commerce, Airport Policy Cmte. 1

2 Moving North Runway Closer to Westchester is Unnecessary 1) LAWA s PROPOSAL HARMS WESTCHESTER/PDR AND VIOLATES SETTLEMENT DEAL 2) RUNWAY SEPARATION IS UNNECESSARY 3) LAWA s HIDDEN AGENDA: LOAD BALANCING 2

Community Under Assault over 25 years 1983 CTA Second level added -capacity about 40 million annual passengers (MAP) - 1 million annual tons (MAT) cargo. 1994 New Master Plan update started.

3 Community Under Assault over 25 years 1983 CTA Second level added -capacity about 40 million annual passengers (MAP) - 1 million annual tons (MAT) cargo New Master Plan update started Small, incremental growth projects enacted gate additions, taxiway updates, terminal remodels Alternative D passed flawed Plan and flawed EIRs Legal Challenge Settlement creates Specific Plan Amendment Committee for cooperation in development of new Master Plan. 3

4 1) HARMS WESTCHESTER/PLAYA DEL REY The Three Pillars: No Ring Road or design that pushes traffic into community No Further damage to business district or additional homes No Western terminal with traffic access from west No new study of noise contours from moving runway North and making them longer 4

5 1) HARMS WESTCHESTER/PLAYA DEL REY Settlement Broken: LAWA s proposal violates the settlement by going beyond the Alt. D worst case scenario Requires new EIR! 5

6 1) HARMS WESTCHESTER/PLAYA DEL REY RPZ tears out the heart of the Westchester Business District 6

7 2) RUNWAY SEPARATION IS NOT NEEDED a. Airport improvements can be made that are not airfield facility dominated Reduce air traffic and time bunching-regionalize. (Added flights increases pollution and noise ensuring more health impacts for our o area.) More Complete Staffing of Tower. Controllers Union has called for more staff and less hours. Runway Status Lights and other collision avoidance systems. In-Cockpit Voice Warning System. Better air traffic control system equipment. Better taxiway and runway signage 7

8 2) RUNWAY SEPARATION IS NOT NEEDED a. Runway Incursions Not Solved by Centerline Taxiway Stats of other airports are presently worse than our North runway y experience without changes. An incursion is two aircraft or aircraft and another entity coming too close on ground. Types of Incursions range from imminent danger A to minor infraction of rules with low likelihood of any collision D. D. LAX North runway accident in 1990s (or other examples raised by LAWA) were controller/pilot errors that would not have been averted by runway changes Incidents Mischaracterized: Only prove that South Runways are a NOT safer and do not support centerline taxiway on North End Around Solution 8

9 2) RUNWAY SEPARATION IS NOT NEEDED b. Health and Safety Improvements other than Moving Runways North Reduce air traffic and time bunching-regionalize. (Added flights increases pollution and noise ensuring more health impacts for our o area.) More Complete Staffing of Tower. Controllers Union has called for more staff and less hours. Runway Status Lights and other collision avoidance systems. In-Cockpit Voice Warning System. 9

10 LAWA Released 5 north runway studies at the end of last week Safety Risk Assessment (Washington Consulting) Special Peer Review Airline Pilots Assn comments Northfield Assessment (URS) LAX North Airfield Alternatives (Internat( Internat l Aviation Mgmt Grp) 10

11 Do the Studies Answer the Basic Question of Is the north complex safe? And if not, are a set of alternatives identified? 11

12 Safety Assessments Assumptions and questions not all relevant to basic question. All push for operational efficiency and capacity enhancement rather than addressing if current conditions are unsafe. None address inadequate taxiways along terminals and all dismiss going south. Don t t consider End Around All dismiss impacts on local community as irrelevant. Where is OUR NASA Study??? 12

13 Safety Risk Assessment WCG, Inc. Found that the The hazards and risks associated with the current LAX North Airfield configuration have been mitigated to an acceptable level of risk based on present day usage Substantial portion of assessment is on south complex. Assumptions Section states The proposed North Airfield Runway configuration specifically facilitates these concerns. 13

14 Safety Risk Assessment Remote Identified risks are deemed at worst remote with 8 of 10 extremely remote or extremely improbable. 14

15 Special Peer Review REVIEW DONE IN ONE DAY GIVEN ONLY ONE ALTERNATIVE TO CONSIDER! BIASED INDUSTRY GROUP Assumes safety, operational, and efficiency problems that required significant redesign to solve LAWA provided assumptions that includes larger operational loads and balancing requirement. Operational safety was only one of three major elements upon which to base conclusions. No mention of inadequate taxiway size or spacing. 15

16 ALPA Review Expect virtually every B to be replaced with an A-380 A [Group VI] in the next ten years. NOT CREDIBLE Severe operational penalties, restrictions, and human factors issues will occur if the south field is used for Group VI aircraft operations Because of South Side problems, Group VI aircraft must be accomplished on the North Side Human factors errors will likely increase Suggests 623 increase separation for max efficiency did not discuss south separation. 16

17 URS - North Airfield Assessment Never states that existing cannot operate safely Expressly notes many airports including LAX are given waivers from FAA standards Never considers moving south due to cost of moving terminals Recommends largest possible movement for operational factors. 17

18 IAMG North Airfield Alternatives Never says that current airfield is unsafe Calls for wider spacing for operational efficiency Enhanced Technologies: ASDE-X X airfield surface detection equipment as part of any solution. 18

19 Advantages of Moving South Efficiency in Operation The Unified Plan minimizes the distances between connecting flights New linear design of terminals 1, 2 and 3 eliminates the need for r towing on the north side Flexibility in gate design reduces idling while waiting for gates Allows for extending and widening 24L to balance aircraft loads on runways Safety on the Airfield Runways separated by additional 100 ft would allow for a desired centerline taxiway Fixes the substandard taxiways on the North Airfield this reduces controller activity and provides the controllers with a greater margin of error Modernized Facilities / Improved Customer Service Consolidates TSA and FIS activities Only the Unified Plan addresses the dilapidated terminals in the CTA The Unified Plan minimizes the distances between connecting flights 19

20 Advantages of Moving South Accommodate the A380 and other NLAs The Unified Plan proposes back-siding TBIT this is a green light project that can be implemented today allows quicker build-out of NLA gates The Unified Plan never requires the use of remote gates to service NLAs The Unified Plan reconfigures terminals 1, 2 and 3, which provides more flexibility in handling the NLAs Minimize Impacts to Community and Environment Only the Unified Plan proposal moves the noise and pollution away y from the community Does not destroy additional local businesses New linear design of terminals 1, 2 and 3 eliminates the need for towing on the north side, thereby reducing pollution Flexibility in gate design reduces idling while waiting for gates 20

21 3) LOAD BALANCING Assumptions all include Load Balancing as a goal El Segundo and LAWA want airport operations changed so that more of the very large aircraft traffic/noise is shifted from the South side of the t airport to the North side of the airport. On page 11 in LAWA s Concept Development Goals #3 is Balance long-haul departing aircraft operations between North and South Airfield. Load balancing in layman s s terms means moving more take offs and landings - and in particular Long Haul Heavy Aircraft Departures - from the South Airfield, to the North Airfield. Despite the fact that on p.17 they point out that t currently existing North and South Airfields are generally in balance based on Total l Operations on p.18 they point out that 75%-80% of the Long Haul Heavy Aircraft Departures occur on the South runway complex. This is because the South runways are longer. There is no safety need for Load Balancing 21

22 North Runway Configuration Lincoln Bl Manchester Bl Westchester Parkway 24L 24R CTA Lot C Manchester Square 405 Sepulveda 105 Green Line End West Bradley Terminal Annex for NLA gates 22

23 LAX Overview Lincoln Bl Manchester Bl Westchester Parkway 24L 24R Lot C Manchester Square CTA R 25L Sepulveda 105 Green Line End West Bradley Terminal Annex for NLA gates 23

24 LAWA s Plan DRAFT FOR DISCUSSION 24

25 ARSAC Concept -- DRAFT FOR DISCUSSION 25

26 Conclusion Modernize LAX YES Improve Mass Transit! Reject Expansion/Building for own sake Perform proper reviews! Determine inexpensive LAX fixes that can be done and get on with it If LAWA or FAA feels strongly about unsafe north runway conditions then CLOSE THE RUNWAYS IMMEDIATELY until changes are enacted or revert to a one runway configuration. 26

27 Alt D Northside Runways From LAWA drawing: Note extensions of North 24 R to the west and both ends of 24 L to west and to Sepulveda 27

28 Runways Not Shown to be Unsafe North runway complex incursion rate history is superior to similar airport complexes that have already been fixed. fixed. Neither LAWA nor the FAA can identify any north complex incursion that would have been averted by runway separation that could not be addressed by less expensive measures. 28

29 Is North Runway Complex safe? safe? When the FAA felt that the south runway complex was unsafe they were vocal calling for changes. On the north side the FAA is unwilling ng to mandate changes, but says they will evaluate any LAWA proposals presented. NTSB and LAWA says One incident is too many! but no runway can be ABSOLUTELY SAFE; what is the incremental improvement of a runway movement cost over lower cost alternative improvements? No Separation/taxiway improvement data has ever been presented. FAA NASA Aames south runway simulation studies do not correlate to north side; no north simulations have been planned. Many factors impact safety i.e. North / South sides are both dual, parallel runways, but 80% of incidents occur on South! 5-6 Peer reviews were promised, but not delivered. None will be formal analysis, but will be full of educated opinion. Runway protection zone issue on north. 29

30 Runway Protection Zone As is 30

31 SPAC Advisory Compromise-- DRAFT FOR DISCUSSION 31

32 El Segundo Inglewood Concept-- DRAFT FOR DISCUSSION 32

LAX Specific Plan Amendment Study (SPAS) Final EIR and Related Actions. Board of Airport Commissioners February 5, 2013

LAX Specific Plan Amendment Study (SPAS) Final EIR and Related Actions Board of Airport Commissioners February 5, 2013 1 Background The LAX Master Plan Program serves as the airport s long range development