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Airport Authority's Focus Returns to Expanding Lindbergh Field

San Diego's Airport Authority voted Monday to go ahead tentatively with their master plan to expand Lindbergh Field. Now that voters have rejected negotiating a move to MAS Miramar, the authority is t

Airport Authority's Focus Returns to Expanding Lindbergh Field

San Diego’s Airport Authority voted Monday to go ahead tentatively with their master plan to expand  Lindbergh Field. Now that voters have rejected negotiating a move to MAS Miramar, the authority is trying to decide how best to maximize Lindbergh ’s capacity. KPBS reporter Alison St John has more.

The Airport Authority’s plan includes adding new gates to Terminal 2, and building a new parking structure for thousands of cars off Harbor Drive. Critics say it would be better to shift the focus to Pacific Highway, and better freeway access.

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Board member Paul Nieto proposed a compromise: more traffic studies to compare the environmental impacts of building a parking structure on the Bay, versus building a new transit terminal near Interstate-5.

Nieto: If we find out that it is so damaging that it is way more environmentally sensitive to do something different, then that’s what this agency will have to wrestle with, debate and maybe alter its direction.

This was the Airport Authority’s final meeting. More than half the members will be new appointees when the authority meets again in January. The Airport Master Plan will then become a major focus. Alison St John, KPBS News.