Amarillo is experiencing a sort of “problem” that other cities would love to have.

It’s all about parking, or perhaps I should say the lack of it.

I ventured downtown Friday for a lunch date with a lawyer friend of mine. I couldn’t find a place to park to save my life near where we had agreed to meet for lunch. I had to park about two blocks away, which I know isn’t all that far; but there was a time when I could park right in front of this place on Polk Street at the height of the noontime lunch rush.

When I walked back to the eatery, I looked around and was a bit amazed to notice all the construction activity. There were those ubiquitous orange barrels; men and women in brightly colored vests were walking around everywhere; I heard the pounding racket of progress.

On two corners at the intersection of Seventh and Polk, I watched for a moment as crews hustled around construction sites where new businesses are springing up. I looked along Polk in both directions, north and south, and watched more work under way.

The parking situation is a product of all this work. Construction vehicles are occupying curbside locations normally set aside for “civilians” like me.

We all know that there is an end to all this chaos. It looks like the Seventh and Polk intersection work will be done fairly soon. The work south along Polk appears to be not as far along.

Then we’ll get to deal with even more chaos along Buchanan Street when work crews start mustering for construction of that ballpark.

Oh, boy! Let’s get ready to grumblllle.

Don’t do it too loudly, though. The payoff will be a sight to behold.