Do you think Bangor needs more theater or live music? Are there enough performances but they’re too expensive? Do you think Bangor’s cultural scene is on track? No matter what your thoughts – or residence – Bangor wants to hear from you.

The city is currently conducting an online survey to see what people think of the city’s cultural offerings and how they can be improved. Go to www.downtownbangor.com to take the survey. Answers will be used to develop the city’s cultural plan, which will direct future efforts and investments to boost economic development through arts and culture. The work is funded through a grant from the Maine Arts Commission.

In the spirit of this worthwhile endeavor, an informal survey by the Bangor Daily News shows one direction the city could move in. Not likely to be captured in the city’s online survey is the fact that the city simply needs to attract more people downtown. Respondents to the BDN survey, which included Bangor residents as well as those who live in other communities, repeatedly spoke of the need to make downtown Bangor “more alive” or more vibrant. The best way to do this is to have more people walking the city’s streets.

The sheer volume of people is one thing that makes The American Folk Festival so appealing. Having people walking on the streets, eating at outdoor cafes, dancing at outdoor stages all contributes to a sense of vibrancy.

There are lots of ways to get more people to be active downtown. Encouraging more residents in the heart of the city – the lifting of the city’s overnight parking ban should help – is one way. Building a new civic center at the heart of Bangor, along the waterfront, is another. A new facility would attract concerts and other live performances and, if it is large enough, sports tournaments such as college hockey’s Frozen Four.

Other suggestions in the BDN survey were downtown comedy and film festivals, a Taste of Bangor food fair, the revival of Shakespeare or other plays along the river. Even an ice cream shop downtown, because families tend to walk around with cones rather than having the kids drip double chocolate in the backseat of the car, would create more foot traffic in Bangor.

Bangor’s official survey will likely find a demand for more cultural events, such as concerts and art shows. The first step, however, is getting people downtown.

One scoop or two?