I saw these installed on the Arbutus Greenway today. This doesn't look in any form wheelchair, stroller, one wheel, skate board or bike friendly to me at all.
Is there any practical reason to build those barriers to justify making life harder for above mentioned groups?
Yeah. Cars and their infrastructure are wildly inefficient and dangerous, not only because they bring out the worst in people. At least bikes can't kill as easily and cyclists are more connected to their surroundings, but yeah there are dangerous people on bikes that ruin it for everyone else.
Blows my mind when I see cyclists flying past pedestrians. Like... even if they're a sociopath who doesn't care they're making people very uncomfortable, that kid makes a sudden move to the left as they pass and they'll spend years in prison for manslaughter.