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On-street parking will continue to be free for Edmonton residents with mobility challenges after city officials issued a public apology Tuesday.

The city planned to cancel a long-standing program that gave people with accessibility placards free on-street parking. It told residents who use those placards last week that it is moving to a new EPark system with automated enforcement and cameras that would not recognize the placards.

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But the community was outraged. Disabled residents said they need that parking to get around.

On Tuesday, deputy city manager Gord Cebryk said his team made mistakes and apologized in front of city council.

Now there will be no changes until at least September, he said. In the meantime, they will “move aggressively” to add free spots reserved for vehicles with the placards throughout the core. Those should be in place by September.

Before the end of the year, they should also have a system to allow people who use only one vehicle to register that licence plate in the system and continue to get free parking, Cebryk said.