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Few things in life are more intensely frustrating in the moment than searching for parking on a congested street.

Yes, it’s a first-world problem. But how do you feel coming home with a load of groceries to discover someone parked in “your” spot on a residential street? It drives many of us mad. Even if we admit it’s not our spot.

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Let me repeat that — it’s not your spot. On-street parking is a shared resource. No one owns the street.

But that’s why Edmonton finds itself in a pickle today. When something has always been there, it’s easy for people to assume it belongs to them and the city’s mixed messages aren’t helping. In some congested areas, it restricts parking to residents only and has a system to enforce it. Yet in most parts of the city, they try to send the message that parking is shared.

A council committee spent four hours debating parking Tuesday. It’s now planning to remove requirements citywide for home and business owners to build off-street parking in lots and garages.