When Mayor Dave Cieslewicz finally declared that his pet project, a streetcar system for the city of Madison, was "off the table," we shed not a tear. The initial proposal, which intended to draw tax dollars from some municipalities that would not even benefit from the Madison streetcar route, was doomed to political failure from its very inception. Madison simply has more pressing needs.

However, upon further analysis of the mayor's decision and his impeccably poor timing, we couldn't resist beating this dead horse a little further.

In January, Mr. Cieslewicz and the Madison City Council decided to fund the Streetcar Feasibility Study to further analyze the possibility of a trolley system in Madison. The price tag for the study was a cool $300,000, which came directly out of taxpayers' pockets and cost the city three times the amount of the mayor's esteemed Downtown Safety Initiative. In essence, Mr. Cieslewicz went all-in for a transportation system that was already gathering little support.

But the real kicker came just recently when the mayor decided he wouldn't bother waiting for the results of his costly report but would rather walk away prematurely from a study that was supposed to be his ace in the hole. For no apparent reason, Mr. Cieslewicz folded blind and cost this city a lot of money in the process.

According to Cieslewicz communications director George Twigg, the mayor was not privy to any information from the study that would prompt him to hastily abandon his proposal. Instead, the mayor has decided to continue full funding for the study until its expected completion this fall, despite it being rendered completely useless by his very own proclamation.

For the time being, we are still scratching our heads. The mayor's decision to fully fund a study on cost-effectiveness and then proceed to dismiss it only months before its due-date is an ironic imbroglio befitting of this entire saga. We can only hope this was the final chapter in a series of poorly executed proposals and rampant displays of fiscal irresponsibility on the part of our local government.

We do recognize the immense population growth projected for Madison and Dane County, and we encourage further discussion regarding a comprehensive transportation system for the municipalities in question. With the Dane County Board and the Madison City Council recently endorsing a countywide transportation authority, we are encouraged that both the city and county are finally working toward an even remotely feasible solution.