[mywittyname]

On a technical level: no.

On a political level: yes.

The political opposition to the project had nothing to do with preferring a technically superior form of public transportation. Instead, it was opposition to public transportation in general.

[bernawil]

That sounds fair, but another pov: I'm pretty much in favor of subways but I'd be opposed to any light rail project in a heartbeat.

[astrange]

Light rail works great downtown. In particular, slowness is a good thing for local businesses. Fast travel like cars does not encourage people to go to your store, it encourages people to drive past it. This is why e.g. Melbourne has a free transit zone in the CBD.