Could Fifth Street become a one-way street with diagonal parking?This was one of many ideas brought up at a roundtable meeting between Courtenay council and staff, and downtown merchants, property owners and others interested in the future of downtown Courtenay, according to Mayor Larry Jangula.Around 100 people attended the meeting at the Filberg Centre Monday evening. The discussions were broken into groups of about 10 to 12 people — each made up of city and community members — who brainstormed ideas for improvements.Jangula said the meeting setup allowed everyone to get their point across, which doesn't always happen in town hall meetings because some people are more outspoken than others."Often, you get certain groups of people that will sort of control the agenda, and those who are more timid often don't want to speak up or can't speak up, so in a roundtable it's more like sitting around the living room table discussing things," explained Jangula. "It was very positive; there was no rock throwing." A few ideas included: business owners learning more about what each other offers to increase referrals; more downtown events; more public art; aesthetic improvements, like hanging baskets, to Fourth and Sixth Streets; increasing densification, including mixed commercial and residential spaces; improving the look of the old theatre site; making the downtown more pedestrian friendly; and looking at traffic flow and parking. According to Jangula, parking was a resounding concern. One idea was to change prime spots to a 15-minute limit and other spots in the core area to a one-hour limit. Right now, two-hour limits are the norm downtown.Although Jangula said the idea of Fifth Street becoming one-way has been brought up before, it will be considered again, and could help improve traffic flow and parking.City staff is compiling all the ideas and will create a list of the most popular, which is expected to be complete next week.The list will be sent out to roundtable attendees, and a report will be presented to council.Coun. Bill Anglin, who is council liaison to the Downtown Courtenay Business Improvement Association, said he heard many innovative ideas at the meeting, but one thing that stuck out for him was a need for improved communication."If there was one consistent theme for the evening, it was there needs to be better communication between all of the groups," said Anglin, adding this meeting was just the beginning. "It’s still early and there is lots to be done by all concerned, but the opportunity provided a springboard to start the dialogue that will hopefully crystalize in a vision of what we want downtown to be going forward."DCBIA vice-president Amanda Delisle attended the discussions and said that while coming up with ideas for downtown improvements is nothing new, she believes in this process."I believe in it. I believe it's going to work," said Delisle. "I feel positive about it and think it's a great thing; everybody loves this town and really wants to move it in a good direction."  Coun. Doug Hillian said he would support more of these kind of "issue specific" meetings as an approach the city could use more often. Coun. Ronna-Rae Leonard said she wouldn't be surprised if merchants in other areas of town request similar discussions in the future.All councillors said the meeting was positive and productive.Anglin also said attendees seemed serious about putting in "work" to see the downtown flourish."Downtowns die when communities don’t care about having a downtown. The crowd that showed up definitely cares, and more importantly, genuinely wants to work to maintain and enhance the experience that our downtown provides," said Anglin.writer@comoxvalleyrecord.com