"Los Angeles Needs To Get Going. Fix The North Airfield Now."

Drastic changes need to be made to the northern runways at Los Angeles International Airport -- and they need to be made now. So said Federal Aviation Administration head Marion Blakey to LA city leaders this week.

Blakey said she couldn't tell them specifically what to do, but encouraged immediate action.

"I'll put it plainly. However you decide to fix the airfield, get it done," Blakey said. "The problem here is that the parallel runways on the north side are too close together. A landing aircraft that leaves the outward runway on a high-speed taxiway literally has only a few feet to stop before crossing the inner runway hold line."

The changes need to be made not only to improve LAX's overall safety, but for efficiency and it's very economic existence. "Los Angeles needs to get going. Fix the north airfield now," she said.

Blakey's call-to-arms happened during a luncheon by the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce. Her comments echoed Southland politicians' call to Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa the same day to use his "considerable political and personal skills" to "lead modernization efforts at the airport."

LAX has had more than it's fair share of runway mishaps. As ANN has reported, a lot of the fault lies with the runway configuration, primarily on the north side of the airfield, where one in four incursions occurs. Jets come as close 50 feet or less sometimes, like the most recent one that occurred August 16.

To show how the runway configuration affects safety, Blakey pointed to Dallas/Fort Worth airport... which she says also has runways too close together. Between DFW and LAX, there were a dozen near-collisions in fiscal year 2006. Denver International Airport and Dulles International Airport, in comparison, have greater distances between their parallel runways and had no near-collisions, she said.

There was a study released a few months ago that suggested moving one runway 340 feet to the north, a plan that was promptly criticized by politicians like Rep. Jane Harman, D-Venice, Los Angeles County Supervisor Don Knabe and City Councilman Bill Rosendahl because it would be too close to residential areas and there was, in their opinion, no conclusive evidence such a move would improve safety.

There are also economic issues to consider, Blakey said. The city could miss out on some serious business opportunities if it fails to effectively compete with San Francisco, Las Vegas and Phoenix, according to KABC-7 Los Angeles.

"If the airport is going to be slowed down and it's not up to snuff, carriers will pack up and go elsewhere," Blakey said. "There's always going to be another airport waiting with open arms."

The city of Los Angeles has begun a $333 million improvement project on the southern runways which has also been a problem in the past.

Earlier this week, the Los Angeles Airport Commission said it would spend in the neighborhood of $2 million for not only a safety study of the north side, but also a determination if they can handle the new, larger jets and thus, more passengers.

Two years ago, the FAA approved a plan that moved one of the northern runways 340 feet south and totally getting rid of Terminals 1, 2 and 3.

"We signed off on that master plan and the airport agency has not formally presented us with any other plan," said FAA spokesman Ian Gregor.

Critics Harman, Knabe and Rosendahl sent a letter to Villaraigosa Thursday, asking the commission's study stay focused on safety issues only.

"If there is a legitimate safety concern on the north side, then let's deal with it. We, too, are committed to LAX's modernization, and we agree that a safe airfield is critical," the letter says.

"While the FAA believes the construction of a taxiway on the north airfield will improve safety, there is no definitive study on which approach makes the most sense, or whether solutions that protect Westchester and Playa del Rey could accomplish the same goals," the letter continues.

FMI: www.faa.gov, www.lawa.org/lax