Slowly but surely, LAX is moving forward with plans unsnarl the notorious traffic in its central terminal area.

Last week, the L.A. Business Journal reported that the airport was beginning the process of removing over 2,100 parking spaces at the LAX  Economy Lot C.  This will allow for the parking lot to be reconfigured to allow for work to proceed on LAX's $5.5-billion landside access modernization program.

The project involves the construction of two off-site intermodal transportation facilities, providing new locations for passenger pick-up and drop-off and links to local buses and nearby hotels.  Plans also call for a consolidated Rent-A-Car facility, or CONRAC, which will relocate existing rental services into a single location near Aviation Boulevard.

All of these new facilities would be linked to the central terminal area by a proposed automated people mover, a monorail-like system that would shuttle passengers in from CONRAC and the two ITFs.  The automated people mover will also link to a future Metro rail station at Aviation and 96th Street, which will be served by the Green and Crenshaw/LAX Lines.

Completion of a first phase of the project, including the automated people mover and CONRAC, is anticipated by 2023.