The hideous aerial tram that will be built and run as part of the North Macadam development project is fast becoming the symbol of what many Portlanders feel are City Hall's misplaced priorities. In today's skinny Tuesday Tribune alone, there are two unflattering mentions of this Toy of the Rich Developers and Doctors.

Dwight Jaynes, publisher of the Trib, weighed in with these thoughts:

Just one brief mention of major league baseball last week, and the e-mails started anew. The city is getting ready to fork over something like a quarter of a billion bucks to developers for that South Waterfront improvement and it barely gets talked about.

I mean, we're getting ready to fund a tram down the side of the West Hills, just to keep the folks at OHSU happy. That's OK. We're going to provide money for development near the Willamette that not only will block a lot of people's view of the river but also will largely be millionaire housing.

But build a ballpark? Oh, heavens, there's so much alarm when the state has a chance to come up with $150 million that probably won't cost the taxpayers a dime.

What, those needle-nosed skyscrapers and that tram are more beneficial to the average citizen of Portland than major league baseball? Sorry, I don't think so. Not even close.

Meanwhile, reader James Jenkins out in Randy Leonardland wrote this letter to the editor:

While the Portland City Council is planning on spending millions of dollars in public funds on the South Macadam Project -- a project that has seen little public review -- many of us on the east side of the Willamette River are wondering if the city limits now stop at the river.

Twenty years ago, residents on the east side were promised a main sewer line to be built down Southeast 174th Avenue. As the City Council continues to polish the Pearl District, we still wait for our promise to be fulfilled.

Our project can be built at a fraction of the cost of the Macadam project, yet time and again, residents are told there are no funds on the budget for our much-needed sewer line.

Maybe if residents demanded an aerial tram over 174th Avenue, we could get the city's attention. We don't need one, but it certainly captivates the City Council.