🚴 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.

🏡 How can we solve the affordable housing crisis?

The most universal story in all of City Cast is the cost of housing. We asked all hosts to estimate what an average two-bedroom apartment in a decent area might cost in each city. Here’s what they reported back:

Here’s what stood out to us:

• Most expensive: Washington, D.C. ($3,000-3,200)
• Least expensive: Las Vegas ($1,700)
• Biggest surprise: Boise at $2,000 — higher than Pittsburgh, Houston, and Las Vegas despite being a much smaller city.
• How your city compares: At $2,200 per month, Chicago ranks right in the middle.

The housing crisis is especially dramatic in some cities. “The rent is too damn high in Madison, 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.”