What We’re Reading: Unblock Bus Stops, Banana Republic, and Bikes Add Value

The Pike Place Market pigs decked for the holidays. (Credit: Photo by author)

Unblock bus stops: San Francisco will ensure that cars stop parking in bus zones.

Septic systems: Fixing septic systems is key to protecting Puget Sound shellfish, Crosscut reports.

No extension: King County’s homelessness authority won’t extend a hotel contract in Seattle.

500,000: Los Angeles has adopted policy to create 500,000 new homes over the next eight years.

Bollards rock: Charles Mudede champions the virtues of the bollard.

Center of growth: Central Seattle has absorbed more then half of Seattle’s growth over the past decade ($).

Indigenous investments: The Cree are planning a 26-story mixed-use apartment building in Montréal.

Big BMR boom: Burnaby’s housing policies are generating a lot of below market-rate housing.

No-bid work: A City of Seattle employee got a no-bid work approval for cleanup of encampments.

Banana republic: The Washington Supreme Court refused to take up a redrawing of state legislative and congressional maps after a state commission failed to meet a legal deadline and illegally proceeded.

Safer intersections: San Francisco reports on the city’s safer intersections pilot program.

Backwards policies: Illinois wants to go all in on highway expansions and it shows just how unserious much of political leadership is about climate action.

Rise of Africa’s cities: Population is growing in Africa and so are the continent’s cities ($).

Cycle boom: The cycling surge in American cities may be here to stay.

Still recovering: Foot traffic in American city cores is still slowly recovering.

Cross-border HSR: Mexico plans to study a Monterrey-San Antonio high-speed rail line.

The climate candidate: CityLab explores the rise of the local climate candidate, including some in the Seattle area.

Bin it: A New York City councilmember-elect wants to solve the city’s sidewalk trash problem using European solutions.

Aspen for all: Aspen businesses want to make some streets better for people walking, rolling, and biking.

A long time coming: Cincinnati has approved the city’s first downtown affordable housing project in decades.

Bike policies save: Better biking policy could save more than 15,000 lives per year in the United States by 2050.

Inequitable transportation: Texas’ highway expansion approach has made the state come under fire for disregarding racial equity.

Bikes add value: Tripling biking in London could increase the city’s economy by $6.5 billion per year.

Becoming an anti-racist city: What would it take for Tacoma to become an anti-racist city?

Transit and pandemics: Governing looks at what history teaches us about pandemics and transit ridership.

Eliminating parking reqs: Toronto may end parking minimums for new developments.

Better ways: Advocates suggest better ways to address gas prices than the Biden administration is seeking.

Faster rate: Washington kids are getting vaccinated faster than the national average.

C-PACER: Sightline highlights how King County has set a new standard for clean energy financing for commercial buildings.

Institutional shortcomings: Publicola reports on an audit highlighting shortcomings in punishing misconduct within the Seattle Police Department.

Proportional representation: How could proportional representation help candidates?

An unfortunate event: A Sound Transit light rail train became stranded last week, causing chaos.

Article Author

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.