No matter what sort of car you drive, there is one problem that plagues most Californians at one point or another, and sometimes multiple times in one day: Traffic.

There is so much of it, so often, throughout the state. But Assemblyman Mike Gatto, who represents California's 43 district, thinks he might have a partial fix: Reversible lanes.

He joined host Alex Cohen to tell more.

Interview Highlights

What is a reversible lane?

"A reversible lane is the concept that traffic typically flows in one direction more heavy at one time of day, and if we could somehow expand the capacity of the direction where that traffic was flowing, we could really improve the commute for Southern Californians." (Reversible lanes are already in use in San Francisco and San Diego) 

What is Mike Gatto's bill proposing?

"This bill would require that whenever there is a new project or whenever a road is being resurfaced or majorly renovated, that the people who are doing it, whether it's Cal Trans or the local authorities, have to consider whether reversible lanes would be a wise decision for that road."  

What things make L.A. ripe for reversible lane use?

"Southern California, I'd like to remind people, is completely unique... The city of Los Angeles alone, and this does not count the surrounding cities, the city alone is 469 square miles. We are a culture of sprawl and we are a region that was probably not planned too wisely  when it first developed, and because of that we are still dealing with the after-effects. And so my position is, you know, we have these certain weaknesses that are built in, but it doesn't mean that policy makers can't think about what's the best way to do things now.  And I would submit that yes, in Southern California, this is a particular problem."

To listen to the full interview, click on the blue audio player above.