Stephen Fesler
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.
Modern tram systems are increasingly seeing the use of grassy tracks. Many North American transit agencies may be loath to follow suit, but there are a lot of practical and positive reasons to implement grassy tracks. And it may not be as complicated to do as it might seem....
Cali rules: Following California's vehicle emissions rule standards, more than a dozen states could follow suit.
Non-drivers are future: Anna Zivarts argues that non-drivers are the future.
Public bathrooms: San Francisco's Tenderloin makes a compelling case for public bathroom programs.
High housing costs: A very large share of Vancouver residents have considered...
Why is Los Angeles’ downtown so small? It isn’t just because of the car. Dave Amos of City Beautiful explains.
Local transit agencies in Puget Sound have begun to release their fall service change details. Service is being slashed on a wide range of routes because transit agencies are hemorrhaging operations staff at an alarming pace, which should be raising alarm bells in the minds of elected officials. With...
Why are Philadelphia's streets good and what can other North American cities learn from them? Alan Fisher of the ArmChair Urbanist explains in this video.
Boston's bike mayor: Boston's Mayor Michelle Wu is a bike commuter and planning a big rollout of protected bike lanes this year.
Ground-floor retail: What is the future of ground-floor retail?
Pre-approved plans: South Bend is supporting pre-approved house plans.
Opposition to landmarks: Denver is making it easier for people to oppose...
There’s a lot of talk about using fare gates instead of proof of payment in Seattle, but can proof of payment be just as good or better? Reece Martin dives into the thorny topic in this video.
This Transpo Notes roundup touches on a mix of transit stories, including:
Zero youth fares and ORCA Lift fare reduction begin;ORCA card readers are getting an upgrade and new cards coming;Sound Transit's board approving an expanded fare ambassador program;Sound Transit's board conceptually approving equitable transit-oriented development for two Link stations;...