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.
At RM Transit, Reece Martin takes a dive into Montréal’s planned elevated metro line. The line will use elevated segments that fit neatly into neighborhoods and bring positive attributes to communities beyond just the transit function. For modern elevated rail in North America, Montréal could be setting the bar...
SB 5528: With passage of enabling legislation, Seattle could speed up construction of light rail extensions.
Pit to tower: Across from Seattle City Hall, an empty pit is said to soon start seeing construction of a tower ($). We also noted construction preparations earlier this month.
Urban renewal: Boston's new mayor...
Anyone who uses a pedestrian overpass can tell you that they leave much to be desired. CityNerd takes a dive into them to evaluate their worth.
City Beautiful takes on the contemporary movement to ban cars on certain streets in cities. What happens in communities when this policy is implemented? City Beautiful looks at American case studies.
This week's Transpo Notes roundup covers King County Metro's service change, Everett Link extension options, expansion of facilities at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, additional federal funding for Sound Transit's I-405 Stride bus line, and Sound Transit's fare strategy process.
Metro spring service changes
While Community Transit and Sound Transit are reducing some...
RM Transit discusses how some cities may have built the wrong transit system for their needs. It may not be the end of the world, but what can cities do to address that going forward? RM Transit discusses some models to consider and points to Seattle's Link system as...
Pandemic-era places: Atlanta is removing a pandemic-era experiment of a people-oriented Peachtree Street. Meanwhile, Portland is making a pedestrian street plaza permanent.
Obsolete sewers: Grist details how many cities spend billions on new sewage systems, but their designs may already be obsolete.
Toxic districts: Dallas could impose zoning changes in neighborhoods...
Not Just Bikes runs numbers on how different development types pan out in terms of costs and benefits to communities with fascinating 3D visuals. Spoiler: suburban development is a hefty drain and net negative to communities. In the long-run, that spells trouble even for suburban residents.