Behold: Tilikum Crossing, Bridge of the People

It's been three months since a TriMet selection committee revealed their four favorite names for the distinct new transit bridge south of the Marquam. Those names weren't necessarily the most popular in the public suggestion phase of this process, but had a combination of inspiration, historical significance, cultural weight, and bunch of other factors the judges were looking for.

The finalists:

•Abigail Scott Duniway Transit Bridge (named after the noted Northwest suffragist and Oregon Trail conquerer)

•Cascadia Crossing Transit Bridge (self-explanatory)

•Tillicum Crossing Transit Bridge, Bridge of the People ("tillicum" is a Chinook word meaning "people," among other things)

•Wy’east Transit Bridge (named after Mount Hood)

And so now we've got Tilikum Crossing—which the TriMet release says "is how the first people who lived here spelled the word." Also: Probably less likely to make middle schoolers snicker.

Committee Chair and historian Chet Orloff said the Native American name was selected because it holds the “most promise to connect the people of our region today with the long past of people who have been here for thousands of years, and to connect with future generations.”



Many people have pointed out that the new bridge sounds like a shopping mall. Those people are correct. I was partial to "Naked Against the Rain."

Of course it's poll time.