Originally Posted by
writerguyfl
Can someone help with a query (or provide a link to a site that explains the reasoning)?
I can see why people heading south on the 405 might prefer this system over the current one when picking up/dropping off passengers. But, what about people coming off the 105?
The current method is:
1) Exit Sepulveda and crawl through the tunnel.
2) Fight traffic around the Central Terminal Area (CTA) to the terminal.
3) Walk a few feet to the ticket counter or TSA check point.
This new methods seems to be:
1) Exit onto Imperial and head north on Aviation Blvd.
2) Fight local traffic to get to the pick up/drop off point at the Intermodal Transportation Facility (ITF).
3) Take stairs/elevator/escalator to the station.
4) Wait for the train.
5) Take the train to one of the three CTA stations.
6) Walk up to 600 feet to get to the terminal.
7) Take stairs/elevator/escalator to the ticket country or TSA check point.
Am I confused or missing something? Or, is LAWA just banking on the fact that new system with all the extra steps will be shorter in term than the old one?
No, unfortunately, you're not missing anything - yet.
Where LAWA and probably MTA (Metropolitan Transit Authority, e.g. Metro) are hoping/working toward is a more comprehensive urban metro/light rail/subway system so that instead of heading by car to the ITF or to the Central Terminal Area, one would get dropped at or make one's way to a Metro station and then (eventually) connect from there to ITF.
But that's a decade or more into the future. And, for most people, will take longer and be more painful than going directly to CTA.
So, yes, connecting into ITF is the best that LAWA can hope for. What they can and might do is try to stop inbound drop-offs and outbound pick ups but I suspect they're just a bit dependent on the parking fees that they receive in the CTA.
David