St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Elisa Crouch and Ken Leiser column: More flights bring more East Terminal checkpoints

Nov 08, 2009 (St. Louis Post-Dispatch - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- LUV | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating -- There's been a changing of the guard at Lambert-St. Louis International Airport.

Southwest Airlines announced last month that it will be adding flights from St. Louis, making it the dominant airline here. American Airlines is axing more than half its flights by next year.

But the gradual shift in air superiority here actually began several years ago, and the growth of Southwest has had some noticeable consequences. Some mornings, the security lines at the East Terminal seem to go on forever.

Southwest is the primary tenant in the East Terminal, but it is also used by USA 3000, charter airlines and Air Choice One, which provides service to Kirksville, Mo.

Beginning Monday morning, the airport and the Transportation Security Administration will open an additional security checkpoint inside the East Terminal, and a second will be available later in the week. There have been four security lanes up until now.

Lambert spokesman Jeff Lea said the two new lanes will be near the Starbucks in the East Terminal ticketing area. There just wasn't enough room to fit additional security lanes where the TSA now operates because the checkpoints are between the Southwest ticket counters and the escalators.

"We certainly think this will alleviate some of those peak-demand lines," Lea said.

The airport performed the actual construction, Lea said, and the TSA is responsible for the equipment.

Southwest is adding more than a dozen flights out of St. Louis next year, and there will be more charter flights to Mexico vacation spots this winter.

In that sense, the new security lines may prove to be an on-time arrival.

Q. Route 3 through Cahokia and Sauget has recently been resurfaced. It is much nicer to drive on, but the lane markings are hard to see, especially in the dark when it is raining. Are there plans to put reflective lane markers out there?

-- Cheryl Metter, Columbia, Ill.

A. By the time you read this, those difficult-to-see lane markings may have already been replaced by the Illinois Department of Transportation, said field engineer John Scheibal. What you've seen on that stretch of Route 3 are temporary markings. The new ones will be permanent.

They will be longer and easier to see. There also are plans to used raised reflective markers.

Q. Has anyone else noticed an increasing incidence of blatant littering on our roads? Watch any driver who has a cigarette in his or her hand, and notice what happens when they've finished getting their nicotine fix. Without fail the butt gets flipped out the window, coming to rest in the middle of the road, along the curb, on the windshield of the car behind you, you name it. Cigarette butts aren't biodegradable. Who do these people think will clean up after their messy habit? Can our police be more aggressive about writing citations for this? Can all of us be more vocal when we witness this? Honk if you're fed up.

-- S.D.

A. Unfortunately, litter continues to be a problem. And we all pay the price.

In Missouri, the state Department of Transportation spends between $5 million and $6 million a year on the problem, said Stacy Armstrong, roadside management supervisor with the Missouri Department of Transportation. MoDOT uses a combination of its crews and inmate labor to pick up litter, and when you tally it all up, Missouri expends 260,000 labor hours a year on litter pickup.

The majority of cigarette butts that do get picked up are picked up by sweepers, Armstrong said. Annual cost of the sweepers is $2.5 million. There also are civic-minded groups that "adopt" stretches of highway for cleanup sweeps.

"We just put a small dent in it as far as cleaning up after people," Armstrong said. "Unfortunately, I don't have much of a budget."

Q. Can someone please explain to me reasons why MetroLink does not have pay gates so that all riders must pay to ride?

-- Tom Schinsky

A. Modern light-rail systems around the country have been built as open systems based on proof-of-payment fare collection, such as what you see on the St. Louis MetroLink. Passengers are expected to carry a ticket or pass and then produce it when asked.

It's a sort of honor system. Metro hires inspectors who make random checks. The hope is that this will limit fare evasion.

The reason is the cost-prohibitive nature of installing gates and turnstiles, said Metro spokeswoman Dianne Williams. Los Angeles is testing barriers at a small number of their transit stations, and other agencies are watching to see what it means to fare collection.

Turnstiles and gates aren't foolproof, because fare evaders can still hop over them. Still, Williams said, Metro is evaluating the cost of adding barriers to some of its light-rail stations.

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