Mayor Unveils Improvements At Baltimore's Penn Station
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- There's a new welcome for many Penn Station riders. Wednesday, the mayor and many others unveiled the newest improvement at Penn Station.
Marcus Washington was there and has details on the improvements and how travelers are responding.
It's a small change but is part of a bigger picture for the city of Baltimore.
For the past few years, travel at Penn Station has been booming and with more people coming, they're bringing more attention to making a first impression.
"This is the front door for the city and when you have your front door, you want to make an excellent first impression and we haven't been doing that in Baltimore," said Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake.
That started the push for improvements at Penn Station. In the past four years, Amtrak has invested nearly $10 million into improvements for the 2 million reported travelers at Baltimore's Penn Station.
"So they will stay for a while and they will come back and, in the words of the mayor, 10,000 families will come and live here. That's what this is all about," said Congressman Elijah Cummings.
Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake says each of the 2 million travelers that come through Penn Station each year are ambassadors to the city. Therefore, it's important to not only make improvements in Penn Station but the community surrounding it.
"They're either going to tell a good story about what they see here or a not so good story and there are so many great things that are going on in Baltimore and right here in this neighborhood," Rawlings-Blake said.
And to welcome visitors and even locals back home, the unveiling of a sign making what some call a bold statement.
"It's one of the first things you see when you get off the train and I like it," said Eleanor Rahnis. "I like it a lot."
"It really sticks out in your brain. It's really gorgeous and very contemporary and modern," said Katelyne Burno.
The sign was paid for by the Downtown Partnership of Baltimore and Visit Baltimore. Upkeep will be facilitated by the Downtown Partnership.
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