*NASA says LAX is safe

A long-awaited report, just out this morning, says that the two north runways should remain in their current configuration. Other proposals, such as widening the distance between runways, might make the airport safer, but "the risk is so low, reducing that risk by a substantial percentage is of limited practical importance." (LAT) Airport and city officials are likely to use the report to counter FAA recommendations that the runways must be reconfigured, a costly and unpopular move. Some believe that simply adding more warning lights could ease safety concerns. From the WSJ:

Since at least the 1980s, the FAA has argued for much more. The agency has consistently maintained that increasing the distance between the two runways--a change that already has been made to parallel runways on the south side of the airport--is the surest way to reduce the likelihood of planes mistakenly rolling into the path of other landing or departing aircraft. Five previous technical studies backed the notion that relocating a runway was the most effective way to reduce the dangers of runway incursions

Such runway incursions remain one of the most pressing aviation safety problems at big airports around the world. In previous years LAX, as the Los Angeles hub is known, led all major U.S airports in the number of serious near-collisions on the ground, though the statistics have improved recently. Airport improvements and lower traffic have contributed to the improvement. In the year ending last September, LAX reported eight so-called runway incursions. Two years earlier, there were a total of 21 incursions.

*Edited post