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.
Reece Martin looks into why several European companies are trying to make inroads into the North American market (in this case metropolitan Toronto) for urban rail transit and why that matters.
Puget Sound has embarked on ambitious transit expansions. But the success of those largely hinge on people living near stations and stops, no matter how much transit agencies lavish and spoil on parking-and-ride facilities. A centerpiece of these expansion efforts is Link, a light rail network set to grow...
Not Just Bikes explores the wonders of Dutch underground bicycle parking facilities. In recent years, the quality and expanse of these have been growing throughout the Netherlands. As biking grows, smaller above or below facilities like these could begin to make sense in North American cities.
Car-free Berlin: Berlin advocates are proposing a car-free area bigger than Manhattan.
De-leading: Washington, D.C. wants to eliminate lead pipes by 2030 but the plan isn't fully funded.
Rent control: The Stranger talks about the latest rumblings on rent control in Seattle.
Whiners: Governors of the anti-democracy party apparently don't like the...
This week’s Transpo Notes highlights: extended service reductions on King County Metro, Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell joining Sound Transit's board, new transit-oriented development at Tacoma Dome Station, and Community Transit's zero-emissions study.
Extended Metro service reductions
King County Metro continues to struggle with service delivery as an operator shortage persists. On...
CityNerd walks through the very wonky topics of induced demand (or better described as "induced traffic") and the methods for justifying road widening projects.
It almost seems like every other week these days you hear about another light rail-involved collision in Rainier Valley. And the reason for why is obvious: at-grade running trains cross more than a dozen intersections on Martin Luther King, Jr. Way S. Each of those crossings introduce risk for...
Housing and zoning reform is taking center stage in the Washington State Legislature. Today, a handful of bills will be heard in committee to address long-standing injustices in local zoning codes that ban housing other than single-family detached homes. Two bills in particular stand out among the pack: House...