June 1st, 2016 by WCBC Radio

While most of the attention in the past year has focused on the Cumberland Economic Development Corporation’s Rolling Mill project- plans for the Baltimore Street redesign will soon be announced. A number of proposals have been developed for the downtown business district, and specifically the mall-  a few would open some or all of the mall to vehicular traffic. The mall was created in 1977 when Baltimore Street was "bricked-over," transforming the street into a pedestrian mall. In the following years, debate has grown over the decision to "brick the mall," with some saying it complicated parking and hurt business. The designs under consideration were developed by McCormick Taylor, a Baltimore-based engineering and design firm, in conjunction with the Sage Policy Group, an economic development consulting company also based in Baltimore. Anirdan Basu, chairman and CEO of Sage and a nationally reknown economist, tells WCBC News that it takes only a brief walking tour of the downtown mall to see that it is lacking in economic vitality- and change is needed…