guess

M1EK immediately pointed me to a 2000 City of Austin survey of downtown parking.  According to this chart, 42% of the total available garage spaces sat empty during the peak hours.

 That's good evidence the problem is one of coordination and not supply.

Quick hit: About to leave on a business trip to Yuma, and have to hit a discount store on the drive from Phoenix to pick up some stuff.

Guess what, RG4N? The Target I'm going to hit is NOT "on the freeway"; nor is the mall across the street.