People in wheelchairs are actually excited to be 5 inches forward of everyone they’re trying to talk to. The handles hitting the bench backrest is the inclusivity they crave.

Imagine the money that went into consulting about these anti-homeless measures*, designing them*, going through the processes of manufacturing and installing them, and disposing of the perfectly usable and superior benches afterwards.

*(not actually difficult, but it’s capitalism, we all know whatever was responsible for this was grifting on the side)