I wonder too. The big town just south of me built a new fancy pants $6.1 million 284 space parking garage...downtown. The mall (where all the big downtown stores relocated to some 37 years ago) has acres and acres of "free" parking. To add insult to injury due to some political shenanigans they paid farm rate taxes on it for the first 25 years.

Until zoning boards put a stop to nonstop uncontrolled sprawl it is going to continue.
Aaron