Yep, around me a lot of thoroughfares that used to have 3 lanes on each side now have 2 lanes, a bike lane, and a giant median filled with planters now (that the drunks can smash into every weekend).
Yep. Same around here. Planters, in a drought in a desert city. Smart thinking. Politics and bureaucracies attract the worst people. Maybe a few have good intentions when they started and the job just demoralized them.