The proposal to run an aerial tram from Oregon Health Sciences University to an as-yet undeveloped tract being caled "North Macadam" is drawing lots of opposition, and for good reason. It will be ugly. It will pass over a once-treasured scenic corridor and further deface an already battered historic neighborhood. There are already too many cars in the area, and it will only attract more. And the public benefit is highly speculative at best. Supposedly OHSU will pack up for Hillsboro if its doctors are forced to ride a 10-minute shuttle bus between locations rather than a 3-minute tram. Hogwash.

To some observers, this is just another example of the real City Council of Portland -- namely, the five or so big real estate owners in town -- buying a toy and letting the neighborhoods and taxpayers pay for it. The city has already built a trolley so that the real mayor of Portland, Homer Williams, and his buddies can make even more money with their cash cows in the Pearl District. Why not a grossly out-of-place gondola so that they can do the same thing on the other end of downtown?

The current response to the outraged neighbors exhibits particular arrogance. If you're nice, maybe the city will buy your home for current market value (already badly depressed, of course, with the invasive construction that's about to begin). As if it is o.k. to run people out of their homes provided they get a check. And oh yes, we might get around to turning Front Avenue back into a street rather than a no-access freeway that divides your neighborhood. There is an empty promise that has been echoing around City Hall for well past a decade. The neighborhood deserves that one, and freedom from the tram to boot.

The real tragedy for the public arising from this tale is that, like all public transit, the tram will lose money and be a burden to taxpayers. The question no one seems to be raising is, Who will run the tram? Why, Tri-Met, of course. The same Tri-Met that already runs huge deficits and adds to the tax burdens of businesses throughout the region. Every rich doctor who rides up and down over the good people of Gibbs Street will be a few quarters out of the pocket of the average Joes trying to make a living down below. Even the biggest fans of light rail will have a hard time justifying this particular financial boondoggle.

Assuming for argument's sake that a tram is the right idea, the right people should be paying the bill for it. If OHSU and Mayor Williams need a tram that badly, they ought to have to build it and run it themselves.