While the mayor was celebrating the opening of a new runway at O’Hare and fending off questions about the opposition of six airlines to his airport expansion program, foes of the plan ran a full-page ad in the Daily Herald. I had trouble wrestling the entire image into this post, so I’ll just provide you with the text.
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DALEY’S O’HARE “MODERNIZATION” BOON or BOONDOGGLE?
Chicago has made many unchallenged public relations claims about Mayor Daley’s much ballyhooed “O’Hare Modernization Program” or “OMP”. But when one looks at the details it is quickly apparent that the public relations claims are mostly “hot air”.
The Aviation Benefit Claims are Bogus!
* The infamous “Western Access” – a one hour bus ride around the airport. Chicago admits that passengers with baggage, who use American Airlines and who park in the western parking lot, will face a one hour bus ride around the airport to get to the American terminal. Same goes for United passengers with baggage who land at Terminal 1. Imagine: $15-20 billion of your money for a Rube Goldberg design that eats up an additional hour of your time! That’s “modernization”?
* The 45 minute taxi ride from the Northern Runway to the United Terminal. Because Daley’s massive plan fails to fix a critical taxiway choke point on the northern side of the main terminal complex, FAA controllers anticipate major taxi delays in good weather (let alone bad weather) from the northern runway to the United terminal complex.
* Minor Delay reduction rapidly disappears. FAA’s own studies show that the new runway will not provide any significant long term delay relief.
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