LAX TAKES OFF BAN ON CURBSIDE SERVICE.

Byline: Harrison Sheppard Staff Writer

Curbside drop-offs and pickups at Los Angeles International Airport - suspended because of security concerns in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks - will resume at 5 a.m. Saturday, just in time for the holiday travel crush.

Mayor James Hahn's announcement of the resumption heightened concern over the need for even more Los Angeles police officers and other security at LAX and also carried a warning to motorists: Anyone who leaves a vehicle unattended for more than a moment will be cited and the vehicle will be towed.

``We have to strike the right balance in making sure the airport works as intended,'' Hahn said. ``But we also have to make sure it's as safe as we can make it.''

Travelers - especially the elderly and disabled - were relieved to hear of the upcoming change. They said the current situation has proved difficult, involving long walks from parking lots or inconvenient trips aboard public transportation, cabs or shuttles.

``I'm delighted,'' said Marta Selisker of La Mirada, who was meeting her elderly mother-in-law at the Alaska Airlines terminal. ``I'm very glad to be able to pick up my passengers here at the curb.''

But City Councilman Nick Pacheco, chairman of the council's Budget and Finance Committee, criticized the mayor's plan, saying it will divert traffic officers from their regular ticket-writing duties and hurt the city's general fund.

A recent report found the city is already expected to lose more than $11 million in revenue this year because of traffic officers transferred to LAX.

Pacheco's committee recently approved a request to hire an additional 35 traffic officers to make up for those lost to LAX duties, but now many of those new positions could also be pulled away, he said.

``Traffic officers generate revenue when they do their job and enforce parking meters,'' Pacheco said. ``That revenue goes to the general fund, which would give us more choices and more help in funding public safety programs.

``I am very concerned about the airport sucking up all the general fund money and police resources where the community is going to be left to fend for themselves.''

According to the Mayor's Office, an additional 20 traffic officers from the city Department of Transportation will be transferred to the airport for the reopening of curbside pickup/drop-off. That is in addition to the 30 DOT officers that were already transferred since the Sept. 11 attacks and an additional 25 airport police officers on traffic duty.

Revenue from tickets written at LAX still goes into the city's general fund, but Pacheco said the officers are more effective and generate more revenue - not to mention enforcing the city's traffic laws - on the city's streets.

The airport continues to lose $450,000 to $500,000 daily in revenue because of the business slowdown caused by the Sept. 11 attacks, according to LAX spokeswoman Nancy Castles. Passenger and flight volume are also down compared with last year, although they have been increasing of late.

Daily landings and takeoffs are down to an average of 1,900, compared with 2,200 last year, Castles said. The number of commercial flights from January to October was about 621,000, down 4 percent from last year, which was a record-setting year for the airport, she said.

Passenger volume for the year is expected to be down about 6 percent from the 67.3 million passengers last year, she said.

Curbside drop-offs and pickups by private vehicles were banned following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. At that time, all private vehicles were also banned from even driving through the Central Terminal area, but that ban was later lifted.

Hahn said the airport is trying to get as close to back to normal as possible, while still keeping increased security measures in place.

Parking in the white zone will still result in a citation of $35 and a towing fee of at least $56, Castles said. The citation fee goes to the city's general fund, but the towing fee goes to LAX for administering the towing program.

But, thanks to a change in federal law under the new aviation security package, the out-of-pocket costs for a driver who leaves an unattended vehicle can actually be much higher, she noted.

Under the new law, anyone who causes a significant aviation security risk, in particular one that results in the evacuation of a terminal, can be fined up to $11,000 and could be sued by the airlines if they lost revenue because of the breach.