Rising gas prices and thickening trafficcongestion make small, fuel-efficient scooters seem like a great way toget around. But on roads built mainly for speeding cars, scooting canbe scary. Occasional scooter-rider Pam Diaz argues it shouldn`t be.

I`m new to this "urban planning" concept. I`dnever heard the term until I started working for a web developmentcompany that seems to deal with it somehow. Many of our clients areinvolved in planning, but I won`t even bother to act like I know whatthey do. I`m a web developer, and now that I`m waiting for clients torespond before I can get back to my main work, I have time to sit andponder my world. How can I, as a non-planner, take advantage of mynewfound acquaintanceship with these urban-planners to nudge them in adirection that will enrich my daily life?

My immediate thought is that planners are probably in the bestposition to help me improve my relationship with my new scooter. Irecently purchased a small gas-powered scooter as an alternative formof transportation. It was kind of an impulse buy. But because I live inLos Angeles and have the benefit of generally good weather most of theyear, it seemed like a reasonable idea at the time. With gas pricesgetting higher, it`s a purchase that seems smarter and smarter everyday.

But as much as I love the thought of getting 100 miles per gallonand having an abundance of parking spaces available to me, I am afraidto ride my scooter. On the outside, I smile when I do ride it because Itruly believe that`s the image a scooter-rider should portray: young,happy, carefree. On the inside, though, I`m completely paranoid thatI’ll get squashed by L.A.`s unforgiving traffic. I continuously scanwhat`s coming towards me from the front, from the sides, and check mymirrors to make sure the car behind me is not following too closely

My scooter has a small engine, and whenriding past people mowing their lawns, I can`t help wonder whether ornot the lawnmowers have more power than the machinery on which I`msitting. My lack of horsepower apparently doesn’t amuse car drivers asmuch as it does me. They tail me and pass me the first chance they get{usually only to sit longer at the red lights}.

Los Angeles is no doubt a car-loving city. Despite the subway, thetrain, the buses, the bike lanes and even the sidewalks, despite thetree huggers and the environmentally conscious, and despite thefitness-minded and the health nuts, the majority of us still grab ourcar keys whenever we`re headed past the mailbox. It`s because above allthe financial, environmental and health benefits of other modes oftransportation, we`re simply in a hurry. On the road, we`ll tail, cutoff, or maybe even clip or hit anything that putt-putts in our way orotherwise impedes our 50 mile-per-hour lifestyle. This puts those withsmall engines, or no engines at all, in near-constant danger.

But this should not be the case. I should be able to ride my scooterwith little fear that I`ll get flattened. I should be able to tellpeople I own a scooter and not have the first response inevitably be"Aren’t you afraid to ride it?" I shouldn`t have to always think "Yes,of course." I shouldn’t have to put on a brave face and lie to keep upthe young/happy/carefree façade.

This, however, is the reality faced by the scooter. As a result, mygas-guzzling sedan {well, it doesn`t get bad gas mileage, but it doesnot sip as lightly as my scooter!} gets called to action more oftenthan my scooter, even though there is also the added hassle of dealingwith tandem parking in my apartment and the inevitable headache offinding parking in L.A.

My scooter spends most of its days chained to a pole in the garage.This is not the life I imagined it would have. It deserves more. I wantit to romp around town wi
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