Enci Box

(If you don't like my formatting, you can download this article as a pdf., here - DN)

Last year at the Alternative Car Expo (to most known as the AltCar Expo), there was much excitement about all the motor vehicles that were trying to be sold as the new alternative to cars. Huh? There was a small area in a room off to the side and hidden from through traffic that was set up for the real alternatives and the Greensters had their own "park" set up,  demonstrating that one can carry lots of stuff on a good bike without having to waste the resources that manufacturing a car does. Unfortunately their excitement was drowned out by the oohs and aahs coming from the big room as the "green" crowd clamored around dozens of motor vehicles (Alt-Car?) that ran on batteries, good wishes, great intentions, and a continued commitment to the misuse of large amounts of public space.

I've written in the past three weeks My Case Against Bike Paths, my discontent about Bike Lanes and about  Bike Routes.

Two weeks ago a group of cyclists got together with the LAPD and created the Cyclists/LAPD Task Force. The Task Force addressed issues concerning law, safety, education, enforcement, policy, road rage, the Cyclists' Bill of Rights, the Bike Plan, theft, data, and crime scenes.

Late last year I participated in the Crenshaw Crush ride which had riders of ages, from 4 to 64, participating. The route took us from major arterials like Crenshaw Boulevard to little neighborhood side streets, and through the Olympic Village.

Bike Lanes are a deterrent for me to ride in and I oftentimes cringe when I hear people blindly supporting them without asking for enhanced safety standards and regulations.

(Anyone who was at last December's Bike Meeting in City Hall witnessed a mini-shouting match between Enci Box and Councilman Tom LaBonge over whether or not there are "bike facilities" in LaBonge's district.  Enci contends that a bike path is not a real facility, and she elaborates and explains that point here.  - DN)

A few years ago when I was part of a theater production on Santa Monica Blvd. we worked hard to fill the seats and we advertised, we passed out flyers, we called the press, we sent out notices and we invited our friends and family, hoping to fill the house. Through it all we were always struggling with the fact that the streets are congested, traffic is miserable, parking is limited and our audience invariably showed up pissed off and frazzled by their journey, making for tough audiences!

WI'm young, I'm an actor and a photographer and I'm a woman. This might be nothing unusual in Los Angeles with the exception that I'm also car free.