The gist is that Portland drivers couldn’t stop hitting crucial safety infrastructure (proving its necessity) so PBOT gave up on it.
As one of the commenters pointed out: Since a pedestrian/bike fatality costs PBOT nothing and replacing a concrete planter a car has demolished costs them more than nothing, to balance the budget they’re going to go with more pedestrian deaths.
We really need a higher standard for possessing a drivers licenses if people can’t be trusted not to hit large, stationary objects on the regular… All of the forced incentive to drive in this country has made it into something people take for granted. It’s easy to forget you’re operating heavy machinery capable of high speeds.