WFHB Bloomington Community Radio
The Kohr Building, on Rogers, in between 1st and 2nd Street just moved closer in the process to be redeveloped into, what the City of Bloomington calls, affordable housing. The City of Bloomington bought the building as a part of a deal which saw the City buy the old Bloomington Hospital site on 2nd Street from the IU Health. Next year, IU health is slated to move from the site to their new location, which is currently under construction, on the 45/46 bypass. Earlier this year, the Bloomington City Council voted unanimously to give the 120 year old Kohr building an historic status. The developers who won the bidding process, submitted a proposal that would set aside a number of permanent supportive housing units for the unhoused.
Since the beginning of the pandemic last March, Bloomington Transit has offered its public bus services free of charge. The decision to do so was motivated in large part by safety and distancing precautions which would make it difficult to take fares. Yesterday however, Doug Horn, one of the Bloomington Transit board members considered reinstating the bus fares at the Transit board meeting. Lew May, Bloomington Transit’s General Manager said that drivers support a return to fares because they have seen an increase in disruptions on buses caused by people experiencing homelessness. In an opinion piece in the B-Square Beacon, Dave Askins, wrote, “Surely the disruptive behavior on buses of some individuals experiencing homelessness should not guide our policy choices on bus fares.” Askins went on to note that fares account for only about 4% of last year’s Bloomington Transit budget. Another 7% or so of the the budget came from Indiana University’s contribution to Bloomington Transit. After some public comment, the Board ultimately voted to extend the free rides until at least May 18th.
