Trimet tells Joe Rose to get lost

Portland, Medford car shoppers among nation's greenest; TriMet's hush-hush bridge 'milestone': Commuting roundup | OregonLive.com

• You’d think a budget-battered public agency that has been dragged on the pavement in recent months for secret executive and management pay increases, not to mention obstructing an investigation into sleepy drivers, would want to broadcast some positive news to taxpayers.

But not TriMet. The $485 million-a-year public transit agency is about to hit a new milestone with its $134 million Portland-Milwaukie Light Rail bridge over the Willamette River. But it has told Hard Drive that the details can’t be reported until a TV crew can be there for maximum coverage.

“You are able to report to the public once the actual event occurs,” said TriMet spokeswoman Mary Fetsch. “Because of the complexity of this project and because of the many nuances that come with construction, there is the possibility the event/milestone may not take place at the scheduled time.”

Hard Drive’s view: If something significant is about to happen on an expensive public project, then the public has the right to know about. This is a case of a guardian of public information telling us how we can use that information. We’re not big fans of that. The public paying for the bridge shouldn’t have to wait for the TV cameras to arrive.

At risk of being cut off by TriMet’s communications department, we’ll say no more. 

But the milestone isn’t too hard to figure out. Check out the live bridge cam and keep your eye on the west bridge tower. It'll be cool.