CRITICISM STEPPED UP OVER HAHN'S AIRPORT PLAN.

Byline: Rick Orlov  Staff Writer

Mayor James Hahn's proposed $9.1 billion modernization of Los Angeles International Airport came under new criticism Thursday, with a top city official questioning its security and traffic plans as well as the cost.

Councilwoman Cindy Miscikowski, who represents the LAX area and serves on a key City Council committee overseeing the facility, stepped up her criticism in a detailed letter to local and federal officials about the mayor's proposal.

``This master plan should be one that achieves something real, at a reasonable price and not one that seems to raise more questions than it answers,'' Miscikowski said.

Miscikowski's comments were released by her office Thursday.

The councilwoman, who serves on the Commerce, Energy and Natural Resources Committee overseeing the airport, has tried to slow the mayor's push for the LAX plan - forcing him to agree to a six-month public hearing and comment schedule.

Deputy Mayor Matt Middlebrook said Hahn remained convinced the proposals he has made are in the best interests of the city and the traveling public.

``We have worked with the councilwoman and her staff throughout this process and will continue to address her concerns,'' Middlebrook said. ``While we disagree with some of the points she raised, we believe any differences can be worked out through this process.''

While Miscikowski conceded the new plan is better than previous efforts and better than doing nothing, she said she has major concerns over the projected cost - and the potential cost of unforeseen expenses.

Miscikowski said she recognizes it is difficult to compare the LAX plan with other facilities, and she notes the next biggest project is nearly half the cost - at $5.4 billion for Atlanta.

``The cost differences ... are striking,'' Miscikowski said, particularly that the LAX plan calls for limiting growth to 78 million passengers a year.

``Surely, these laudable goals could be accomplished at a lower cost,'' Miscikowski said, suggesting changes in some of the basic measures could result in substantial savings.

She also noted even though LAX is in a strong financial position today, it could be jeopardized because of the expenses that will be incurred by issuing bonds for the project.

``The bonds needed ... will place substantial financial burden on Los Angeles World Airports and its tenants and may threaten its current bond rating,'' Miscikowski said.

Another area of concern is the security plans, where she pointed to the lack of specifics on cost as well as issues about whether the suggested technology is available.

Miscikowski said the city ignored a report from the Rand Corp. raising questions over the security aspects, rather than using it as a tool to measure the plan's specific proposals.

``The lack of detail for the actual implementation of the necessary security technologies are of grave concern,'' Miscikowski said. ``Other risk scenarios must be evaluated in the process.''

Another area of criticism involved ground transportation, which she said was ``unfunded, uncertain and under-evaluated.''

These include plans for a new freeway off-ramp, traffic patterns around the airport and how traffic will be dealt with inside the airport for cargo and other services.

The councilwoman said she also was skeptical of how well the city is limiting future passenger growth.

There exists the potential to use portable gates, which could expand the number of passengers using the facility, she said.

Rick Orlov, [phone]

rick.orlov(at)dailynews.com