Building our way out of traffic never has worked and never will.
If we really want to solve this, we need a different kind of vehicle altogether.
The best solution we could start implementing now would be a system of narrow self-driving electric cars, with dedicated lanes on major throughways. These cars would be synchronized with each other for efficient merging, and to be able to safely drive close to each other.
This is the infrastructure California should be investing in.
A ride in one of these self-driving narrow cars could cost the same as a metro fare costs today.
And then mass transit should be free! This is good for the environment and the sanity of commuters.
Even if you continue to drive your own car, you'll still benefit from fewer full-sized cars in your way.
I'm excited to rally the other 119 State Legislators behind this vision. Perhaps, in the contracts we give to develop this, the State can negotiate a royalty for when those companies implement this outside of California, in consideration for California having let them real-world test it.