To the editor: You only have to look at the infamous Thanksgiving images of a completely paralyzed 405 freeway to understand that efforts to improve the unacceptable ground transportation situation at Los Angeles International Airport have little chance of success. (“In a city known for traffic, LAX stands out for its gridlock. Can it be fixed?” Opinion, June 11)
The improvements under construction may divert traffic away from the infamous horseshoe-shaped highway that connects the terminals, but are unlikely to materially reduce traffic into the LAX area. Apparently, the owner of Los Angeles World Airports continues to cling to the fantastical ideal that, despite clear limitations, all travelers have the right to arrive and depart the airport in a single-occupant vehicle.
How do we know this? Look at the plight of LAX FlyAway.
At $9.75 each way, FlyAway bus service can reduce vehicle traffic to the airport, is cost-effective for passengers, and is priced much lower than the billions of dollars and decades of waiting involved in building the Metro system.
And despite these obvious benefits, only two FlyAway lines (yes, two) operate in a region as vast as Greater Los Angeles.
So instead of expanding the FlyAway service, LAWA is effectively building a new horseshoe for private cars and a horribly expensive connection to a Metro system that still doesn't serve alarmingly large swaths of the region. Unfortunately, despite the great cost and fanfare, LAWA's plans seem destined to fail.
Reagan McClymonds, Los Angeles
..
To the editor: Tens of thousands of travelers enter and leave LAX every day. Your article features three complainers. From that microscopic sampling, you get a front-page headline calling LAX “the worst airport I've ever been to.”
But much of the article is actually interviews and quotes from transportation experts that LAX is a strong work in progress heading to the 2028 Olympics. These are positive, including a couple who say LAX is much better than the Chaos at Atlanta airport, the busiest in the country.
Yes, Los Angeles is stagnant. However, the headline should reflect how good LAX is and that it will soon be a large, world-class airport.
Mark Shapiro, Los Angeles
..
To the editor: Years ago, The Times published an article saying that people have been living with civic errors for decades. I say, scrap the LAX People Mover and the expensive parking structures and finally build a train to the airport.
In New York, the simplicity of the airplane icon showing the way to JFK Airport is easy to follow. In Chicago, seeing the trains speeding toward O'Hare International Airport through traffic jams makes me envious. At that airport, you go down a few escalators and get on a train, no cars, no traffic.
BP James, Long Beach
..
To the editor: In addition to the problems listed in this article, LAX is possibly the worst airport for elderly and disabled customers.
All of these “improvements” relate to reducing traffic and getting people out of the terminals using shuttle buses and the People Mover, but how will an elderly or disabled traveler navigate them?
LAX accommodates these travelers while inside the terminal with staff accompanying them on electric carts from the ticket counters to the gate and back to baggage claim on return trips. However, once they get their luggage, they are on their own.
Older travelers should be able to walk out of the terminal and take a taxi like in any other city in the world, not have to lug their luggage onto a ferry to a remote parking lot where they will have to wait in another line.
Wendy Prober-Cohen, Tarzana
..
To the editor: The “brilliant Tom Bradley International terminal” is cited in his article on LAX. What a joke!
I recently spent three weeks in Spain and Portugal, enjoying immaculate, well-designed air and rail terminals of every vintage and state of construction, only to return home to find LAX's worn-out and terrifying Tom Bradley Terminal.
There is no excuse for the chaos and absolute lack of maintenance. There are broken and abandoned luggage carts, clogged urinals, dusty trash surrounds the escalators, and the baggage claim area is in ruins. I feel for travelers who are disabled, elderly, or traveling with children.
LAX needs a complete redesign, don't shiver.
Richard Stanley, Los Feliz
..
To the editor: I must disagree with your statement that LAX does not have a “direct connection to public transportation.” Everyone in my area knows that the most convenient way to get to and from LAX is the FlyAway bus from Union Station in downtown Los Angeles.
I took that bus yesterday and it arrived in 30 minutes during rush hour. If you take the bus early, you can get there in 22 minutes. I have done.
John Kwiatkowski, Los Angeles
..
To the editor: Hey, LA Times, how about we knock down the whiny headlines and negativity a little?
We live here and we are all aware of the big problems in our city. We could use some help and positivity, not more sand in our faces.
Kenneth Thompson, Manhattan Beach
