Parking in downtown Joplin could get easier starting next year under a new agreement between the city and Joplin’s schools. KRPS’s Fred Fletcher-Fierro has more.

The issue of parking has been a key concern for Joplin residents and visitors with the largest parking lot in the downtown area, now the new home for Connect 2 Culture’s Cornell Complex. At their meeting Monday night, the Joplin City Council sought to alleviate some of those concerns by entering into an agreement with Joplin Schools that will allow the city to use five of the school districts’ parking lots.

Joplin City Manager Nick Edwards Monday night explaining the arrangement. “As we’ve been working on the Memorial Hall project, the question of parking came up. And so, after a review of the area, and a look at opportunities, one of the opportunities that we were able to find was the lots that were owned by the school district.” The agreement is contingent on Joplin voters approving a 30 million dollar overhaul of Memorial Hall next April. If passed, the lots would add 296 available spots for Cornell Complex and Memorial Hall visitors.