Santa Monica Airport Park Plans Draw Support, But Traffic And Parking Concerns Loom

SANTA MONICA, CA — A majority of people who weighed in on elements of Santa Monica's future airport park supported the city's emerging plans, but traffic, parking, safety and long-term costs remain significant concerns, according to newly released survey results.

The city's latest Airport Conversion Project survey received 4,206 responses between Feb. 18 and April 26, including 2,003 complete responses and 2,203 partial responses, for a 47.6 percent completion rate.

The results show strong support among those answering questions about proposed nature, sports and pedestrian-oriented areas. But the city's analysis of 1,774 written responses paints a more complicated picture, including concerns about traffic, parking, maintenance and the amount of programming proposed for the site.

The report also notes that hundreds of comments concerning housing and keeping the airport open were not included in its thematic summaries.

Nature, Sports Draw Strong Support

The proposed framework divides the future park into eight conceptual districts: Immersive Nature, Active Sports, Arts & Culture, Urban Edge, The Stroll, The Lawn, The Meadow and The Heart.

Proposed uses within Immersive Nature received 77.9 percent support, followed by The Stroll at 76.8 percent and Active Sports at 76 percent.

Support was generally softer when respondents were asked about the locations of some districts. Urban Edge received 56.9 percent support and The Heart 58 percent, with more than one-quarter of respondents neutral or unsure about both locations.

The percentages represent people who answered each individual question, rather than all 4,206 survey participants.

Traffic, Parking And Costs Raise Concerns

Among Santa Monica residents who submitted written comments, traffic and parking were major concerns.

Residents worried that streets including 32nd Street, Ocean Park Boulevard, 23rd Street and Bundy Drive could face additional traffic and that neighborhoods around Clover Park and Sunset Park could absorb visitor parking.

Respondents from neighboring Los Angeles communities raised similar concerns about traffic, parking and access, including the possibility of nearby residential streets becoming cut-through routes.

The city identified active recreation and sports facilities as the top theme across the written responses, with participants calling for more sports fields, youth facilities, aquatics, pickleball and tennis courts, playgrounds and skate or pump tracks.

Other residents wanted more trees, shade and native plants and fewer buildings or commercial elements.

Respondents also questioned how the future park would be funded, staffed, secured and maintained, while others said the emerging framework was over-programmed or difficult to understand.

Housing, Airport Comments Treated Separately

The city's report says two categories of written comments were pulled out of its thematic summaries.

A footnote states that, "due to direction," 115 comments concerning keeping the airport open and 224 concerning adding housing were "pulled out from the summary."

The report does not explain what "due to direction" means, who provided that direction or why those subjects were treated separately.

Patch contacted the city Wednesday seeking clarification about who provided the direction, why the comments were treated separately and whether they remain part of the underlying survey data. The city had not responded by publication time.

Survey Skewed Older, Whiter

The city's own analysis found that survey respondents did not mirror Santa Monica's population, describing those who reported a specific racial or ethnic identity as "disproportionately White."

Among those respondents, 73.5 percent were White, compared with 62.1 percent of Santa Monica's population. Hispanic or Latino and Black residents appeared underrepresented, while Asian respondents participated at roughly similar levels to the city's population.

The survey also skewed older, with 70.2 percent of respondents answering the age question being 45 or older.

Responses came from 118 ZIP codes, with 56 percent of completed surveys coming from Santa Monica and 21 percent from adjacent Los Angeles ZIP codes.

Airport Set To Close In 2028

Santa Monica Airport is scheduled to close at midnight Dec. 31, 2028, with the city planning for the property to become parks, public open space and recreational facilities.

The Airport Conversion Project is working toward a more detailed plan for the future of one of Santa Monica's largest pieces of public land.