SOUNDING BOARD -- Margie Seegmiller

This is in response to the question, “Why do you think there is such a

discrepancy between countywide opinion and Newport Beach’s opinion on an

airport at El Toro?” There are two beliefs that Newport Beach residents

and countywide residents share.

The first is that it is cheaper and more flexible to drive to Los

Angeles International Airport to fly, and most people from Newport Beach,

as well as people in the rest of the county, do precisely that. The

second belief is that airport travel will only increase in the future.

This second belief is where we differ.

Countywide residents that I know truly believe that John Wayne Airport

can easily accommodate the growth by removing flight restrictions and,

therefore, nothing will change for them, personally. As a Newport Beach

resident, not currently living directly under the flight path but one who

drives around and past John Wayne Airport daily, I can see how ludicrous

that belief is.

One need only look at a road map to be struck by the incredible

difference in the two airport sites. Where El Toro is huge and surrounded

by land buffers, John Wayne is tiny and completely landlocked.

Where will all these new airport patrons park? Can you imagine the

inconveniences one will suffer in the future, trying to fly out of a

super-busy John Wayne Airport? I can imagine it, but I’ll bet most

countywide residents have rarely seen the environs of John Wayne Airport,

and many have probably never flown from there.

I have been a resident of Newport Beach for the past two years. As a

23-year Sacramento area resident, I have flown into John Wayne to visit

Disneyland numerous times, both before and after its transformation from

a tiny outdoor airport to its present modern state. Each year, I was

faced with the choice of shorter distance to my destination, but more

expensive and more inconvenient flight times, or more flexible and

cheaper flights through LAX, but a longer drive in the rental car.

Most times, my family chose the LAX route. We still do, now that we

live here, for the exact same reasons. When I first moved down here, I

was so excited by the prospect of the El Toro airport being put into use,

and alleviating these problems. In the future, I see L.A. County forcing

more people to fly from regional airports instead of relying on LAX.

People countywide think that John Wayne will be there to take up the

slack. People outside of Newport Beach do not see John Wayne in a

realistic light. They should all drive through the area, take a tour, or

at least be given some statistics, and I think most people will be

shocked into reality.

* MARGIE SEEGMILLER is a Newport Beach resident.