Transurban's massive tollway will, if it is built, also link the city's high-productivity points – the port, the airport, the ring road, the suburbs – and provide a release valve to the West Gate.

But Transurban's solution to our traffic woes comes with three poison pills: off-ramps the government says will help "disperse" cars coming off the new toll road. Do they think we are idiots? They won't disperse cars – they'll attract them.

And think of the strategies both Melbourne City Council and the state government have employed over the last decade to get you out of your car and walking, or on to public transport, or on to a bike. Squeezing St Kilda Road down to one lane as it approaches Flinders Street. Removing a lane of traffic on Albert Street in East Melbourne at all but the busiest of times. Cutting Harbour Esplanade in Docklands from two lanes each way to one. Introducing a car parking levy.

These sorts of changes to infrastructure send a message to motorists: get out of your car, and don't think about driving into the city unless you have no other option.

Then along comes Transurban with a few shiny trinkets for Treasurer Tim Pallas to consider, and suddenly all of that evidence-based transport planning is chucked out and thousands of extra cars each day are invited into the city.