The article in Monday’s Baltimore Sun talked about Baltimore’s plans to hopefully turn Pratt Street - the main artery through downtown - into a more vibrant and pedestrian friendly area.  Progress has already started with the recent additions of retailers Best Buy, P.F. Changs, Panera, etc. 

Will Baltimore’s Pratt Street ever be the equivalent of Chicago’s Michigan Avenue or New York’s Fifth Avenue, or perhaps even the Avenue des Champs-Elysees in Paris?

These sorts of questions were raised at a recent presentation by architects hired to make suggestions about their vision for Pratt Street.  Ahh the short answer, no.  At this point there is just too much ground level office space along Pratt.  But why not strive for something better. Baltimore may not make it all the way there, but the more progress the better. 

One of the interesting proposals would be to change the traffic pattern from 1 way to 2 way.  The logistics of making this happen sound like a nightmare.  I assume the would need to do the same with Lombard Street in order to balance the loss of lanes heading west to east.  Pratt Street is maxed out during rush hour, I can’t imagine what the construction would do to Baltimore’s downtown rush hour.

One worthwhile proposal would be to do away with the fountain area sitting between Pratt, Light Street South, and Light Street North.  The area really is a waste of space.  It basically serves as a place for people to stand while waiting to cross the street, a place for the homeless to congregate, and a place for city workers to try and keep kids out of the fountains.  So I guess it’s serving a purpose, but certainly could be put to better use.

This photo from the Baltimore Sun shows one of the presented Pratt Street visions.  What happened to the Verizon building? It’s missing - I guess part of their vision included knocking down that building and putting up a billboard type structure.  Or maybe that’s what is replaing the fountain area, it’s hard to tell.

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