"Inner Harbor 2.0" Charts a Course for Baltimore's Pioneering Project

"City leaders unveiled an ambitious long-term plan for the Inner Harbor Wednesday designed to restore pizazz to a vital area that's beginning to show its age," reports Natalie Sherman.

Concepts included in the "Inner Harbor 2.0" plan range from the incremental to the wildly ambitious - like constructing a pedestrian bridge to connect Harbor East with Federal Hill.

"The Inner Harbor, some of which turns 40 this year, needs upgrades to its crumbling brick promenades, deteriorating bulkheads and unreliable light fixtures, said Laurie Schwartz, the president of the Waterfront Partnership of Baltimore, which funded the plan along with the Greater Baltimore Committee. It also needs updates to remain a draw for local residents and the millions of people who visit the Inner Harbor each year, she said."

"It's past due time for us to take the next big look," said city planning director Thomas Stosur.