The West Hills check in

An alert reader has pointed out that David Bragdon, former president of Portlandia's bizarre Metro "government," is lashing out publicly against the revived interstate freeway project that would, among other things, replace the bridge between Portland and the 'Couve. His blog post, here, was immediately amplified by his fervent admirers at Willamette Weed, with prominent placement here.

Now, of course, I agree with Bragdon that the Salem bureaucrats who are involved in this thing are bumblers and weasels. But what does Bragdon want? And who does he want running things? He doesn't say.

He's a car hater, and I guess he wants fewer vehicle lanes in general. But he's also a lifelong Goldschmidt lieutenant, and so there must be a lot of money involved. You can just smell it. Somebody with a big stake probably wants something done a certain way, and the state transportation minions probably aren't funneling the pork in the right direction fast enough. 

I presume Bragdon wants the reins turned over to the oddball Metro, which he used to run and the Goldies have always controlled. If so, you wonder why he wouldn't say that. Maybe it's implied.

Anyway, yes, the freeway project is a boondoggle. And Bragdon ought to know, as a member of the most spectacular boondoggling team this state has ever seen. The booniest part of this particular doggle is the light rail part, to which Bragdon's heartstrings, and probably the old boys' money, are dedicated.

One of the things that cracks me up about his critique of the project are his crocodile tears about what will happen if more highway lanes cut through picturesque Hayden Island. Has he been there lately? It is an absolute craphole of bad graffiti, inestimable quantities of garbage, and bleak homeless camps. No one is going to be "developing" anything there, except a communicable disease, for many, many years. If the cars and trucks moved through a little faster, at least the squatters would breathe a little easier.