• Rental car companies won't rent recalled vehicles - Control could not render output E-Mail Newsletters Sign up to receive our free Travel e-newsletter and get the best travel news, deals & features in your inbox. E-mail: Select one: HTML Text Philadelphia, N.J. tram still a dream PHILADELPHIA (AP)  Aerial trams ferry thousands of visitors around Disneyland. They haul others through the Rocky Mountains and are a popular mode of transportation in Europe. So why, some here are asking, shouldn't they sail over the Delaware River? Two partially-built pillars, part of the proposed Skylink Aerial Tram, are visible on the Philadelphia side of the Delaware River. By Jacqueline Larma, AP The bistate Delaware River Port Authority is pouring millions into the idea, trying to turn the stalled tram project into reality after two decades of discussions, fits of construction and failed development projects. Supporters claim tourists and commuters would flock by the thousands to hop on a gondola car, rise 160 feet and enjoy the view as they travel between the waterfronts of Philadelphia and Camden, N.J. But critics see the idea as a symbol of wasteful spending and redundancy, since there are already train and ferry connections between the two cities. "It reaches the level of a crime because you know you're going to have to come up with money to operate that from somewhere," said Dennis Winters, a member of the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission, who has testified against the project. The port authority spent $13 million on tram infrastructure before last year, and plans to spend $2 million more starting this summer. Officials say the Skylink Aerial Tram project will end up costing $42 million overall. The two city waterfronts draw tourists to several retired warships, a maritime museum, an aquarium, a minor league baseball stadium and an amphitheater. Out-of-towners are likely to start their visits in Philadelphia's historic district, at the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall. Philadelphia's downtown waterfront, known as Penn's Landing, has long been cut off from the rest of the city by a highway. Numerous proposals to develop beyond its barren stone terraces have gone nowhere. Attractions in both cities have had financial difficulties. The Independence Seaport Museum has been dipping its hand deeper into reserve funds; the USS New Jersey battleship has been struggling to meet its budgets; and the Camden Riversharks baseball team, whose stadium was in danger of foreclosure, was bailed out by other league owners. And the tram project still faces obstacles. Two years ago, a developer backed out of plans for a $329 million entertainment complex on Penn's Landing. The city has since been looking for an architect and developer to take over the project, but things have moved slowly. Officials are trying to push forward with the tram project, said John Matheussen, the port authority chairman. But it is waiting to see what happens with Penn's Landing, where there are already incomplete pillars for the tram. The agency also is banking on the expansion of the riverside New Jersey State Aquarium and other revitalization plans in Camden, long listed among the nation's poorest cities. Boosters to a new loft-style apartment building as a sign that the Camden waterfront is turning a corner. A study done for the port authority estimates that the tram will get 500,000 riders a year and generate a profit of about $400,000 in its first year. The agency says the tram, which will span 3,300 feet from end to end, will help to make the waterfront more like the Inner Harbor in Baltimore. Rides will take up to 10 minutes. But not everyone is convinced. "In terms of a real transportation improvement, I don't know that you'll get the regular riders back and forth," said Emily Linn, transportation program manager with the Clean Air Council in Philadelphia. There are few commuter gondolas in the United States. One, in New York City, could give port authority officials reason to pause. A tram connecting Manhattan with Roosevelt Island, a bedroom community in the East River, was built in the early 1970s. When subway service started in 1992, officials had planned to shut the tram down, but residents were outraged. It's since become a $200,000 annual drain on operators. "You just can't turn it into a transit attraction because once you're here there's nothing there," Roosevelt Island Operating Corp. spokesman John Melia said. But on the Delaware River, officials said they are banking on tourists. "The tram is to some people almost a destination in itself," Matheussen said. Copyright 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.