Airport Terminal

Laura Sturza AIRPORT DISTRICT -- Some of the more cramped areas of Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport will be less congested following Monday's Airport Authority vote to award a contract to a Glendale firm for terminal improvements. Delmac Construction and Development Inc., with a bid of $192,857.14, will remove the information display kiosks, currently in the baggage claim area, to allow more open space for passenger mobility. Permits for the changes were secured prior to the passage of Measure A, Airport Authority spokesman Victor Gill said.

Perhaps the most telling aspect of the debate over the relocation of the airport terminal is the commonality between the principal parties -- the Airport Authority and the city of Burbank. Both agencies agree on the need to protect the community to the greatest extent possible from noise impacts and on the need for a safer airport terminal. As a longtime public servant, it has been my goal to provide a benefit to the community, at large, through my words and actions.

After two public hearings and lengthy discussions over the course of a month, the Burbank City Council has approved the $120-million transit center for Bob Hope Airport. The original proposal had been postponed to allow city officials to clarify the city's role in approving landscaping and so-called "green street" features. The transportation hub will consolidate rental car facilities and bus transit on the current airport property, a covered moving walkway to the airport terminal and the second compressed natural gas fueling station in Burbank.

I've been too harsh on the gadflies and their rantings at the oral communication segment of the City Council meetings. After much thought, I think their performances could be made into a successful situation comedy. The gimmick that would make it fly would be the real-life gadflies playing themselves. The chief writer would be none other than Burbank's humorous Councilman Bob Kramer. Let's make use of our native talent. The performers will probably fight for top marquee billing.

The Leader's write-up about the ROAR initiative essentially suggested that a thorough debate of the issues begin. I am happy to stick to the facts about why Burbank residents should vote no on ROAR. This really isn't about being for or against an airport terminal project. At the heart of my disagreement with the initiative is the simple truth that the passage of ROAR would be bad government. ROAR would waste taxpayer dollars, is unnecessary for maintaining local control over the airport terminal project and, most important, ROAR could undo the progress Burbank already has made in protecting our say. I wish I could recommend that the voters simply read the initiative to understand how ROAR threatens the power the voters of Burbank currently have.

Mark R. Madler A Los Angeles Superior Court judge rejected arguments Tuesday that Burbank voters should have had their say on a development agreement between the city and Bob Hope Airport. Judge Dzintra I. Janavs found that the language in voter initiative Measure B, a law governing airport terminal expansion or relocation, was "unambiguous" and specifically applied to a terminal expansion project and not expansion of the airport in general as contended by resident Howard Rothenbach in a lawsuit filed in March.

This letter is in regard to the Leader editorial on the proposed addition of space in the airport terminal. My guess is that most Burbank residents accept that some additional space will be needed to accommodate new security requirements. The question is: How much space is truly needed for this purpose? Since the 40,000-square-foot addition that is being proposed is approximately 25% of the total existing footage, it does not seem unreasonable to me to question whether this full amount is actually needed just to meet security requirements.

Youths enrolled in the city's Summer Daze day camp learned how airport police and fire departments handle emergencies and fight crime during a tour of Bob Hope Airport on Wednesday. Police officers demonstrated the T3 electric stand-up vehicle's siren and flashing lights. Its three-wheel design boasts a tiny turning circle, which makes it easy to maneuver small spaces. “We can use it inside and outside the airport terminal and on sidewalks,” said Sgt. Tom Davenport, of the airport police department.

This is part two of Carolyn Berlin's letter regarding the Burbank- Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority. (Re: Response to Airport Authority President Charlie Lombardo and Council comments involving the latest airport deal.) As for Measure B, which was put before the voters by the City Council in 2000 and passed with 22,339 votes, almost as many votes as the community's initiative, the question was: "Shall proposed Section 11-112 be added to the Burbank Municipal Code?

At 520,000 square feet, it's going to be big. And at $112.6 million, it will be expensive. On Friday, a cadre of officials celebrated breaking ground on the massive center that is expected to transform how passengers use Burbank Bob Hope Airport. The long-planned complex will bring bus, rail and car-rental services under one roof when it opens in the summer of 2014. The project, officials say, will not only make using the airport easier for commuters, but is an example of how regional public transit can connect to make the system more relevant to the public.

Youths enrolled in the city's Summer Daze day camp learned how airport police and fire departments handle emergencies and fight crime during a tour of Bob Hope Airport on Wednesday. Police officers demonstrated the T3 electric stand-up vehicle's siren and flashing lights. Its three-wheel design boasts a tiny turning circle, which makes it easy to maneuver small spaces. “We can use it inside and outside the airport terminal and on sidewalks,” said Sgt. Tom Davenport, of the airport police department.

Bob Hope Airport officials are ready to submit to federal authorities a key environmental assessment of plans for a new $130-million transportation center. The center will connect to the nearby train station, upgrade rental car facilities and generate solar energy. The public-comment period on the report closed Friday, and as of Friday afternoon, no input had been received, an airport spokeswoman said. The study now goes to the Federal Aviation Administration, which is expected to post its comments in 30 days — the final step in clearing the project for construction.

Parking revenues in October spiked at Bob Hope Airport, hopefully a harbinger of better days ahead, officials said. Parking revenue, the biggest source of operating income for the airport, grew from $1.67 million in September to $1.85 million in October, an increase of 11%, and 5% better than the same period last year, according to a report to the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority. While airport parking revenues have slightly exceeded budget expectations in eight of 10 months in 2010, October was the only month with a double-digit increase, generating more revenue than any other month of the year.

After two public hearings and lengthy discussions over the course of a month, the Burbank City Council has approved the $120-million transit center for Bob Hope Airport. The original proposal had been postponed to allow city officials to clarify the city's role in approving landscaping and so-called "green street" features. The transportation hub will consolidate rental car facilities and bus transit on the current airport property, a covered moving walkway to the airport terminal and the second compressed natural gas fueling station in Burbank.

BURBANK — An allegedly drunken driver broke through the concrete wall in a parking structure at Bob Hope Airport on Tuesday night, leaving him with minor injuries after he fell nearly 20 feet from the second level, officials said. The car was exiting the parking lot, going from the third floor to the second floor, when Simon Graef, a 70-year-old from Valley Village, apparently accelerated toward the wall shortly before 10 p.m. as he tried to leave the structure, Burbank Police Sgt. Travis Irving said.

BURBANK ? The Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority on Monday heard the details of new ordinance that regulates the activities of solicitors seeking donations from travelers at the Los Angeles International Airport. But the authority is unlikely to adopt a similar policy because solicitors do not pose as significant a problem in Burbank as they do in Los Angeles. The ordinance requires solicitors to file for a permit with airport officials and to only seek donations in designated areas, said Thomas Winfrey, spokesman for Los Angeles World Airports, which is the airport authority for the Los Angeles International Airport.

Tania Chatila A runway at Bob Hope Airport was shut down for more than two hours Sunday and an aircraft evacuated after airport officials received word of a bomb threat on a Southwest Airlines. Southwest Flight 117 heading toward Phoenix departed from Burbank at 4:40 p.m. only to be brought back an hour later, said Victor Gill, director of public affairs and communications for the Bob Hope Airport. Southwest Airlines received an anonymous call shortly after the flight's departure that there was a bomb on the plane, Gill said, and relayed the message to officials at the Burbank Airport.

Mark R. Madler A Los Angeles Superior Court judge rejected arguments Tuesday that Burbank voters should have had their say on a development agreement between the city and Bob Hope Airport. Judge Dzintra I. Janavs found that the language in voter initiative Measure B, a law governing airport terminal expansion or relocation, was "unambiguous" and specifically applied to a terminal expansion project and not expansion of the airport in general as contended by resident Howard Rothenbach in a lawsuit filed in March.