🚴 Does America actually love bike lanes?

City Cast hosts are on the pulse of what’s happening in our communities. So I got them together to talk about their city’s most interesting stories and to hear some creative solutions to problems that could work in your hometown, too.

And the hosts did not disappoint! In addition to some fiery takes on each of their 13 local stories, all the cities had something crucial to say on two very important topics.

🚴 Does America actually love bike lanes?

There's probably no greater symbol of progressive city government than the dedicated bike lane. But in Houston, Texas, they're disappearing. City Cast Houston’s Raheel Ramzanali told us the city is literally paving over bike lanes despite residents’ opposition.

Many of our hosts were shocked to hear this. “ They would burn our city down if they tried to take our bike lanes,” said City Cast Austin’s Nikki DaVaughn.

Meanwhile, bike lanes are being installed in Idaho to protect pedestrians and bikers amidst numerous fatalities. City Cast Boise’s Lindsay Van Allen said the politics of bike lanes especially struck her.

“It's wild to me that a progressive area like Houston is rolling that back when we're doing the opposite as a very conservative red area,” said Van Allen.

Bike lanes are always a hot topic in Denver. A recent decision to change barriers on a bike lane on Market Street from vertical bollards to smaller lane dividers sparked a lot of controversy with cyclists who felt the taller barriers were safer for riders.

In a follow up, the Mayor’s Bicycle Advisory Committee requested the city pause any plans to remove other bike infrastructure, restore the removed infrastructure, and be more transparent with future decisions. The committee is also asking the city to invest $200,000 — equal to the amount spent to change the dividers on Market Street — on traffic calming measures that support cyclist safety.

🏡 How can we solve the affordable housing crisis?

The most universal story in all of City Cast is the cost of housing. “The rent is too damn high in Madison, [Wisconsin,] even for elected officials,” said City Cast Madison’s Bianca Martin. Two elected officials have had to call for special elections or suspended their campaigns because they couldn’t afford to live in the districts they represent.

City Cast Las Vegas’ Dayvid Figler is not excited about the city’s plan to open federal lands in the desert and mountains to developers. Proponents say Las Vegas desperately needs more housing, but opponents say this would cause too much strain on infrastructure with sprawl and it ignores endangered species.

“ But like bottom line, it's the desert, David,” said Figler. “If you wanna have a mountain lion sort of doing a confab with your Shih Tzu on the back porch, go for it.”