Philadelphia Officials Release Draft Of New Plan For Delaware River Waterfront

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – A new plan to develop the Delaware River waterfront is due next year and officials say it represents a huge break from failed plans of years past.

The new riverfront master plan, commissioned by city officials, is still in draft form but already being circulated among city and community groups. It comes after decades of failed plans to turn the area into a tourist mecca like Baltimore's Inner Harbor.

This new plan is a much more modest approach focusing on public spaces, according to Harris Steinberg of the urban planning group Penn Praxis:

"It's the antithesis of the 'Big Draw' plans of the past. So it's not a ballpark, its not a shopping mall. It's a series of small, elegant, incremental moves."

The plan calls for a series of new city streets, ten Rittenhouse Square-sized parks, a river trail connecting the parks, and space for small-scale residential development. The final version of the plan is expected by next spring.

Reported By City Hall Bureau Chief Mike Dunn, KYW Newsradio