The Top Five: Action Items for Bangor by 2020
The research conducted for Bangor 2020 this spring sparked some ambitious ideas on what could make the city more livable. How might business leaders, the arts community and elected officials work together to continue making Bangor a better place to live, work and vacation?
Some of these ideas are more realistic than others, but they are all meant to spark a conversation among Bangorians about what they want for the city's future.
Some of these ideas are more realistic than others, but they are all meant to spark a conversation among Bangorians about what they want for the city's future.
1. Bangor Restaurant Week
There were only three Bangor restaurants listed among those participating in the 2014 Maine Restaurant Week. The city should celebrate the growing downtown restaurant scene by creating its own, local restaurant celebration. (Other Maine cities host successful food celebrations, such as Rockland's Pies on Parade and the Machias Wild Blueberry Festival.) A week, or even a weekend, celebrating Bangor restaurants could help attract new and returning "food lovers" to the city. By embracing Maine's identity as the second most locavore-oriented states in the country, Bangor restauranteurs could collaborate with other businesses and city leaders to create a unique celebration of the city's growing food scene.
2. All Waterfront Events Zero-Waste
With a seating capacity of approximately 16,000 at the Darling’s Waterfront Pavillion and events like the American Folk Festival drawing up to 100,000 attendees, the amount of waste the city of Bangor accumulates during these shows has the capacity of more than doubling Bangor’s normal waste consumption. This increased waste in the downtown area, due to the events at the Waterfront has the opportunity of creating a sustainable change in the form of zero-waste recycling. Penobscot county has recently been recognized as having some of the cleanest air quality in the country. Through zero-waste recycling Bangor can continue to be a leader in reducing landfills, energy consumption, pollution and ultimately create a better environment.
3. Make Citywide Wi-fi Service Happen
Over the course of the last decade, the internet has grown from being a basic database to an essential line of communication and information for business, education and everyday life. In 2012, Maine Fiber Co. completed the Three Ring Binder project, a mass infrastructure of fiber optic cable spread across southern, eastern and northern Maine. This infrastructure has the capability of internet speeds 100 times greater than those available anywhere in the state, and would be a serious boon for businesses as well as educational institutions. As a municipality, Bangor needs to install its own fiber optic infrastructure so that third party service providers can come to the area and make affordable, accessible high-speed internet a realistic possibility.
4. A Downtown Food Co-Op
Residents in the Greater Bangor Area have access to food buying clubs and retailers that sell natural, organic health items. The recent addition of a farmer's market in downtown Bangor has helped the city become more livable by providing locally grown food to residents during warmer months. For Bangor, a retail food cooperative located in the heart of the city could greatly improve access to locally grown, organic food and to add to the already busting retail and restaurant scene. A community-based food co-op downtown would provide a year-round place to buy local, organic food and encourage volunteerism through a tiered membership program.
5. Celebrate Stephen King Through Public Art
As one of the most popular and best-selling American authors in modern history, why doesn't Bangor do more to celebrate Stephen King? We're not talking about a Stephen King version of Disneyland. Although they are rarely here, Stephen and Tabitha King are dedicated to the community, donating countless dollars to help improve the area, including their most recent donation to the Bangor Public Library. How about a Stephen King Film Festival in the future downtown independent cinema? Or, why not name a street after King? How about this one? The arts community could create a public arts project centered around celebrating Stephen King, such as statues of his characters to display around town.