Premier Daniel Andrews announcing plans for another road. First, more people doesn't mean we need more roads. After decades of emphasis on cars, Melbourne already has more motorway kilometres than London, and more per capita than New York City. Efficient big cities don't rely on motorways; they rely on frequent mass transit, and good facilities for walking and cycling. We have to prioritise moving people and goods, not vehicles. Loading Replay Replay video Play video Play video Second, traffic congestion isn't a problem we should be trying to eradicate. All successful cities have congestion. It's inevitable. The issue is not one of congestion, but access.

Can people avoid the traffic and still access the jobs, education and other opportunities in our city? And do employers have access to the biggest possible pool of talent? The key to making the most of our city's opportunities, and harnessing the demand for public transport, will be to accommodate that demand, and to let it flourish. Large numbers of people make roads less efficient, but make the most convenient, frequent mass transit more viable. The London Tube and the New York City subway are rightly revered by visitors, because you never have to wait more than a few minutes for a train. And where the trains don't go, there are plenty of buses. Melbourne's growing population means fast, frequent and efficient mass transit is not only possible - it's essential. But how do we get there? In the short term, the key is boosting services on trains, trams and buses, all day, every day.

Loading This is quick and easy, because the fleet and the track capacity are already available. This helps move trips out of rush hour by cutting waiting times, making off-peak travel more attractive. Remember during the Commonwealth Games when they encouraged people to stay in the city after work, and ran extra public transport to help you do it? Let's do that every day. It's not just a CBD issue. Suburban public transport needs boosting. A lot of inner-city traffic is coming from suburbs where there might be only one bus an hour. This has to change. Frequent services in every suburb are vital to provide real travel options. In the medium term, there's more to be squeezed out of our public transport fleets, with better on-road bus and tram priority: dedicated lanes where possible, jump-start lanes where not, and smarter traffic lights that always give public transport a green light.

And the cars? In any city, there is limited space, which has to be targeted at moving people, not vehicles. And the faster and more efficient public transport becomes, the more people will use it. Better walking and cycling facilities are also an important part of the mix. In the longer term, Melbourne's suburban train network needs to transition into the metro system that big 21st century cities need. Metro 1 will open by 2025. There is a growing consensus that we should already be starting Metro 2 – the tunnel connecting Werribee to Mernda via Fishermans Bend and Parkville – to better serve growth areas in the south-west and north of Melbourne. Beyond that, let's keep the ball rolling with further metro lines, to continue filling the gaps in our mass transit network. Can we afford all this? Yes, if we stop building motorways. Infrastructure Australia recently asked: what type of city do we want Melbourne to become? Do we want to be like New York City (most development focused on a dense core), London (medium density all over) or Los Angeles (car-dominated sprawl)?