This is good for a laugh

Involving the public in the decision-making process is integral part of how TriMet does business. In fact, we believe as an agency that we make better decisions when members of the public participate in the process. 

TriMet’s Capital Projects Division leads the agency’s efforts in building the transit system. Integrated into every new rail project is a robust community involvement program coordinated by TriMet’s Community Affairs Department.

The department's mission is to act as an ombudsman between the businesses and residents along an alignment and the project planning and construction teams. Community Affairs team members are assigned to each project to execute a comprehensive public involvement program. The program includes identifying and compiling a list of project stakeholders, such as nearby residents, businesses, schools and neighborhood associations, and seeking their input throughout the development of a project. Concurrently, TriMet creates project citizens advisory committees to advise staff on key decisions throughout design and construction. During the construction, TriMet takes special care to support businesses, particularly those that rely on pedestrian traffic.

To keep the public at large informed of project TriMet hosts a variety of community meetings and open houses. Community Affairs also produces milestone events and a variety of information pieces, as well as Web content and email alerts to provide regular updates to the media and general public on how projects are progressing and encourage involvement.