I have watched the tram project with morbid interest ever since it was just a sexy idea rattling around the Office of Transportation and a bad dream for Gibbs Street homeowners. My perspective is unique. I was one of those Gibbs Street homeowners and was employed by the City with access to PDOT. I am also an experienced professional engineer and construction manager. From the very beginning, I believed the real tram project would cost at least $40 million and I was not alone. I also knew my neighbors in No Tram would be overwhelmed by the City's lust for development at all costs. It wasn't pretty foresight and it has become ugly reality. Cost forecasts doubled and redoubled and they are still only forcasts. But recently things have taken an interesting turn.

I applaud Commissioner Adams' support of a pre-construction project audit. I've worked with Pinnell and Bush and know they are capable of producing a comprehensive independent product. It would be well if Pinnell-Bush's audit went beyond determining projected costs and sources of funds. The City would benefit from knowing how the projected project costs came to grow to what they are now. Start with the original engineering feasibility study if indeed there was one), scrutinize each status report to date, and thus define the process that has been used. Then compare it to industry standerd criteria for project development. I'm sure it would be interesting to say the least.

In starting with a palatable "political" cost estimate that eventually goes through the roof, Portland embarasses itself. Anyone who knows anything about implementing facilities recognizes this as either stupidity or fraud or both. Please take a hard look at the process that has put egg on Portland's collective face.