Every time I drive Interstate 70 from Columbus to Wheeling, I find myself paying attention to the green highway signs.

Not the ones telling me where to exit for Zanesville or Cambridge. I’m talking about the other ones.

At various points around Columbus — the ones I really wonder over are in the city’s neighborhoods, leading to on-ramps to I-70 east — there it is: “Wheeling.”

A name on a sign.

A destination somewhere off in the distance.

And I often ponder, what do the people living in those neighborhoods think when they see it? What image comes to mind?

Do they picture a former commercial and industrial town that served as the hub for what was a steel- and coal-heavy region? Do they think of a place they once passed through on a family trip?

Do they think anything at all?

More importantly, what should they think?

The truth is that the Wheeling of today is not the Wheeling many folks that either grew up here and left or visited for any of a variety of reasons remember.

Our downtown looks dramatically different than it did a generation ago. Historic buildings have been restored. New businesses have opened. The waterfront has turned from an eyesore to an asset. There is energy in the city. There is investment. There are signs of momentum.

Spend any amount of time downtown on a pleasant Friday or Saturday evening and you can feel it.

Yet for all the positive changes that have occurred, one question remains surprisingly difficult to answer: What exactly is Wheeling trying to become?

Cities that thrive usually have an answer to that question — or at least a roadmap.

Maybe it’s as a technology hub. Maybe it’s a historic tourism destination. Maybe it’s a center for arts and culture, outdoor recreation or entrepreneurship. Whatever the vision, cities that thrive have a shared understanding of where they are headed.

Too often, our community conversation seems focused on waiting for something to happen.

Instead, we should be deciding what we want to happen.

That is why, oddly enough, I find Wheeling City Council’s recent discussion on golf carts interesting.

To be clear, the proposal likely will never again be discussed officially. Wheeling, with the interstate running right through its heart, is not a city necessarily set up for golf carts.

But at least it is an idea.

At least it is a discussion about how people might move around our community differently.

At least it forces us to think about the kind of place we want Wheeling to be.

Many communities around the country have embraced golf carts, neighborhood electric vehicles and other alternative transportation options as part of a broader vision of walkable, connected and visitor-friendly districts.

That doesn’t mean Wheeling should automatically follow suit. It does mean the concept deserves thoughtful consideration rather than immediate dismissal.

Communities don’t move forward because every idea is a home run.

They move forward because they are willing to explore, test and occasionally embrace ideas that initially seem unconventional.

Let’s be clear: the issue in Wheeling isn’t golf carts. It’s vision.

If Wheeling is going to continue its resurgence, the city needs more than individual projects. It needs a shared plan for the future.

Residents, business leaders, elected officials and neighborhood advocates should all be part of that conversation.

If we can do that, the next time someone in Columbus pauses to consider one of those green highway signs pointing toward Wheeling … I’d like to think they’re seeing more than a city name.

I’d like to think they’re seeing a place with a clear sense of where it’s at — and where it’s headed.

But first, we have to decide exactly where that is.

John McCabe is editor of The Intelligencer and Wheeling News-Register. From 9-10 a.m. each Friday, he joins Howard Monroe on AM 1600 WKKX to discuss the most pressing issues in Wheeling and the Ohio Valley. He can be reached at jmccabe@theintelligencer.net.