Tallinn city government had decided that the new tram line in the Põhja-Tallinn district would run along Puhangu tänav and make a turn at Stroomi beach park. However, according to Tallinn Mayor Jevgeni Ossinovski (SDE), the office run by then deputy mayor Pärtel-Peeter Pere (Reform) was considering if it could take an alternative route.

"As of today, the environment and public utilities are also under my direct control. This morning, I had a meeting with the head of the authority and asked him for clarifications. He assured me that in June, they indeed did discuss whether to go ahead with the design tender in such a way that it would include a different route than the one decided by the current municipality. The explanation given was that it is to mitigate a possible political risk," Ossinovski said.

"While perhaps in a normal situation one could not be blamed for considering alternatives, looking at the political situation, this is a very clear signal that Pärtel-Peeter Pere's management has actually been working on an alternative option, which would also suit the Center Party, and which the current municipality does not support," the mayor said.

Ossinovski added that he could not say where the agency's originated from, but that such a discussion took place is a fact.

"Up to now, the design tender has been announced for the Puhangu tänav tramway option, but the agency's representatives see that there is still room for modifications if necessary. It was not clear to me how," said the mayor.

Ossinovski added that another cause for concern was that the authority was around two months late in announcing the design tender for the Puhangu tramway, and that the deadlines for the use of EU funds are now quite tight.

The fact that the authority was considering alternatives came as a surprise to Ossinovski.

"The tram on Puhangu tänav has also received a funding decision from the Ministry of Climate. I did not know that an alternative route was being considered at the same time," said Ossinovski.

"The Reform Party, together with the Center Party, already began this political maneuver to break up the current city administration at the end of May. At the same time, the Pere-led authority has been engaged in discussions on changing the tram route of its own volition. This is an important sign of what is going on. I don't know whether Pere gave this direction to the agency, but it looks very suspicious," said the mayor.

Elari Udam, deputy head of Urban Environment and Public Works Department, told ERR that the agency did not directly consider the alternative tram route, but looked at whether the project could be redesigned if necessary.

"We looked at what could be done if there were to be a drastic change to the main project and if we could we then go for some other alternative," Udam said.

"We still look at alternatives from time to time from a risk perspective, but for now we are going ahead with the Puhangu tänav option. There is no reason for us to go ahead with other projects at the moment," he added.

Pärtel-Peeter Pere (Reform) told ERR that the authority did not discuss, neither with him nor at his request, whether the Pelguranna tramway could be designed to take another route.

The Center Party, which was behind the idea of the tramway at the time it still held power in Tallinn alongside the SDE, has, since being ousted, opposed plans for the route to run along Puhangu tänav. Former mayor Mihhail Kõlvart (Center) has been at odds with Ossinovski over whether the tramway along Puhangu tänav had already been approved at that time or whether other alternatives were under discussion.

Five months ago, Kõlvart posted a video on social media, promising his followers that he would complete the Puhangu tänav tram project when he came to power.

"The current city administration wants to build a tram line, breaking up Stroomi beach park by blocking the narrow Puhangu tänav and jeopardizing housing. There is no point in going on at length about the arrogance and incompetence of the current municipality. I have a simple message: if the Center Party comes back to power in Tallinn – and we win the elections – we will bring an end to a project that is not suitable for the people," said Kõlvart.

The Pelguranna tram is expected to start running in 2029. The tram line will cost €28 million to build.

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