BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT) — City council members and other city leaders met with Northport downtown merchants for a round table summit Tuesday morning.

City leaders are asking downtown businesses for feedback and what they think can be done to make downtown better in the future.

Tony Bryan, the owner of the CBD Northport store, attended the meeting and was glad to see so many people participate. 45 people attended.

“They welcomed feedback from all of us people in the community and it’s awesome that they care about our thoughts and what it does for the historical area and how to keep that small town feel and grow and allow us to have more parking for more infrastructure and things to grow the community,” Bryan said.

Some of the discussions included topics about improving parking, schools and heavy traffic conditions downtown. District 4 City Council member Jamie Dykes says getting feedback from merchants and developers is a vital part of the process.

“Well everybody is on board with the development of downtown Northport and our new sports complex that’s coming to Kentuck is going to be a huge vitalization for downtown Northport and the riverfront and of course people are talking about the pedestrian bridge from Tuscaloosa to Northport,” Bryan said.

May 22 will be the next community involvement meeting for the downtown and riverfront, as Tuesday’s summit was only for merchants and business owners. Dykes says the city will have a public facilities workshop on June 26. Both will be at 5:30 at City Hall.