How do you make room in the same city for mothers, delivery vehicles, Rotarians, prison guards, bikers, businesswomen, farmers, lovers and Little Leaguers? What do you do with those who envision Bangor as an inevitable extension of the megalopolis now stretching from Virginia to Portland, a landscape of sprawl and strip malls, parking lots and subdivisions? Or with others who want Bangor to be a Norman Rockwell community of neighborhoods, pedestrians, parks and fields? How do we meet a variety of needs?

Our comprehensive plan, now undergoing an intermediate five-year revision, requires the creative vision and input of us all. If Bangor is to be endowed with a rich, multi-layered, vibrant future we need to share our dreams. The hot topics have already been headline news: the waterfront, new police station, mall expansion, downtown development, and relocation of the courthouse. Did these developments just happen or do we have a plan? Do we have some leverage so that the future will be where we want to go?

Our current comprehensive plan is based on certain fundamental principles: preservation of neighborhoods; creation of zones for economic growth; setting aside space for outdoor recreation, trails and waterfront access; and separation of residential, commercial, industrial and service functions. It deals with traffic, sewers and sidewalks. We have a planning staff, Planning Board, City Council and rules and regulations that deal with topics from aquifers to zoning, plus everything in between. Today there are 21 “transitional zones” where the organic flow of our everyday life seems to be changing a neighborhood from one use to another. Do any of these changes affect your neighborhood?

Planning for the future is relatively new to Bangor. Our first (and rather primitive) plan dates from 1951 with substantive additions in 1969, 1991 and 2000. In general, the city has grown organically as dictated by the needs of the day. More recently we have had centralized planning, conceptualized and orchestrated by city staff. Citizens, while invited to participate, have generally been uninvolved, quiet spectators. Even vocal citizen groups have, on occasion, failed to carry much weight against well-financed interests.

Are you happy with the direction in which Bangor is moving? Do you think we could do better? Here are a few topics to stimulate your thinking:

Neighborhoods: Why are they special? Are we doing enough to preserve them? Should home businesses be allowed in them? Do we have enough affordable housing and rental units? Are our historic districts important, and should they be further protected? What about the encroachment of big institutions and hospitals into our neighborhoods? Should this be limited to protect the neighborhood or supported to help these institutions grow?

New construction: Should we legislate to avoid sprawl? Require sidewalks in all new developments? How about architectural design standards? Should we be building up and not out? What do you think about the new residential development occurring on outer Mount Hope Avenue?

Traffic: How can we make it go slower on your road and faster elsewhere? Do we need more through streets or more one-way streets? Are there too many stoplights or not enough? Should we require the parking lots of commercial areas to be interconnected to take the pressure off our main thoroughfares? How about cross walks and speed bumps? Is it more important to move traffic or people?

Economic priorities? What kind of development should we seek to expand our tax base? National chains? Locally owned businesses? Who should get our TIFs (Tax Increment Financing)? Do we need more malls and places to shop? Should we be doing more to make Bangor a destination?

Open space: Do you agree with the development plans for the waterfront? How about playing fields, trail systems and the city forest? Are we preserving enough undeveloped land in Bangor and taking care of our parks?

Visual arts and music: What can we do to make Bangor a renaissance city, attractive to the creative economy. Is it the city’s role to do this?

Process: What do you think about the accessibility of city staff and the transparency of our decisions about zoning rules and regulations? How can they be improved? What assumptions are we making about the future that you agree with or wish to query?

These are but a few of many questions. Currently only a few groups and individuals have been proactive. Advocates have been vocal for and against a multi-use athletic field complex, preservation of the Penjajawoc Marsh, the cleanup of Birch Stream, the siting of the police station downtown, and topless nightclubs in Bangor. Most citizens have been silent. Does this silence indicate there is a problem, or does it mean you like what you see today and hope tomorrow will bring more of the same? No one will know unless you come and speak up.

The Planning Board has scheduled four community meetings on Tuesday nights over the next eight weeks. Over 50 people attended the first meeting on Jan. 11 at Abraham Lincoln School, more than have attended in the past. Future meetings will be on Jan. 25 at Fairmount School; Feb. 8 at Downeast School; and March 8 at Mary Snow School. All meetings will begin at 6:30 p.m.

This process may herald a new era of increased citizen involvement, but only if you participate. Come and make yourself heard; everyone’s perspective is necessary. Talk, write, cajole, demand, address, scribble or e-mail. You have a unique window of opportunity. Be part of our future.

Geoff Gratwick is a Bangor city councilor.