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Politicians like to say, when they are admiring themselves in the media, "You can't be all things to all people."

Take heed, Rio Nuevo.

If the Downtown redevelopment megaproject were a child and not a confusing mass of conflicting "visions," demands, price tags and discarded memos, we would send him to his room without supper.

Chill out. Focus. Breathe.

Look! Up in the sky! It's a bird; it's a bridge; it's a restored 1930s movie house!

I was walking down the street the other day and heard the words "that Rio Nuevo boondoggle" pass the lips of a citizen. This is not the kind of word-of-mouth we need to revive Downtown's role in the life of the community.

Lately, Rio Nuevo news has been about personnel shuffles and longing for money beyond the 10-year flow of cash now available.

Tucson City Manager Mike Hein got it right when he said Thursday that the project, so far, has been characterized by "overpromising and underdelivering."

Hein is intent on recasting Rio Nuevo as a plan people understand and support. That is vital to its success.

Yes, a soaring bridge is a neat idea that would put an iconic flair into the Downtown cityscape. But at a cost of $350 million or more, it simply cannot be built.

This is a town full of potholes and jammed streets. The $2 billion Regional Transportation Plan needs voter approval in May to prevent gridlock from shutting down orderly life.

A Jurassic-scale totem spanning Interstate 10 is not in the cards. We can't build a bridge across Sabino Creek, where at least some people think there is a pressing transportation demand for concrete and steel.

A proposed science center makes a fine attraction for Downtown development, but it doesn't have to break the bank as part of aforementioned soaring bridge/icon. Perhaps the bridge plan can be repackaged and sold to some oil-rich emirate. It's not going to fly in this desert.

The freewheeling brainstorm phase of Rio Nuevo is over.

What will bring focus and support to Downtown revitalization is a 21st century convention complex with a useful arena, usable meeting space for "A-list" visitors and the hotel space to make Downtown an attraction for national convention business.

This will be accomplished by putting Rio Nuevo's estimated $124 million over 10 years to work making Downtown more attractive to private development.

That is how the plan was pitched in the first place, and Hein seems to be taking it back to its origins.

He correctly reminds us that progress on such an ambitious undertaking is measured in decades, not years. But the first thing to get right is a clear plan.

Putting Tucson Convention Center Director Rich Singer in charge of the arena, civic plaza and science center is a smart move.

An integrated concept with realistic goals, along with visible progress on concrete improvements such as the opening of the Fox Theatre, will steer us in the right direction.

The clock on the special-tax funding mechanism for Rio Nuevo runs through June 2013.

Private investment, the key to success, will accelerate when a clear direction emerges from the haze.

Given sound goals, strong community support will follow.