Snake oil: Washington lawmakers want the state to be exempt from a new federal plan to allow offshore drilling.
City fitness zones: Seattle has 16 free fitness zones spread across the city.
Filthy operations: Women scientists demand that Puget Sound Energy stop burning coal in Montana.
Bikeshare mirage: With the hype of private bike rental companies spreading across America, investment in public bikeshare has been crippled. Meanwhile, the Spin Bikes apparently wants public handouts for its operations despite having an endless money pit from wealthy venture capitalists.
Trumped: In America, solar energy has an uncertain future for now.
Re-rack: Seattle will move recently installed bike racks away from a homeless camp under the Viaduct.
Slumlord crackdown: In Paris, slumlords are being treated like druglords in new crackdown.
Fund critical infrastructure: At the federal level, House Democrats are demanding that Amtrak be fully funded and implement positive train control.
Nation’s worst traffic: According INRIX, the commute from Everett on I-5 is the worst in the nation.
Complete neighborhoods: Strong Towns says that we need complete neighborhoods.
Heavy-handed: New York City mayor Bill de Blasio is overly concerned with prosecuting fare evasion but not so much on parking violators.
Paving paradise: In Detroit, an editorialist makes a plea to stop demolishing buildings for surface parking.
Temporary: “Pop-up Olympics,” or temporary buildings and venues may not be a terrible idea, according to CityLab. The Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang are using just that.
Future-proofing: Seattle Transit Blog argues that the Ballard and West Seattle light rail extensions should be designed for future spurs and expansion.
Urban farming: Is next-day delivery from a local urban farm the next thing?
Failing Americans: In demolishing public housing towers, the promise of housing fell away for many Americans ($).
Lateness dashboard: Miami’s Metrorail gets a new live on-time performance report card.
Hostile by design: One Seattle councilmember is concerned about hostile architecture and street furniture to the homeless.
Congestion generator: Uber could be making traffic in Boston, study suggests.
Be wary: Sound Transit is exploring possible public-private partnerships for Sound Transit 3 projects.
Stephen is a professional urban planner in Puget Sound with a passion for sustainable, livable, and diverse cities. He is especially interested in how policies, regulations, and programs can promote positive outcomes for communities. With stints in great cities like Bellingham and Cork, Stephen currently lives in Seattle. He primarily covers land use and transportation issues and has been with The Urbanist since 2014.