or is some kind of schizoid aesthetic rejection where they just want bike-riding sissies to stop being a thing?

I am slightly depressed at how much it looks exactly like this.

Only thing I’d say is shopkeeps have a point about their footfall being affected by the lack of parking outside their shops now. Literally every other way to address that, besides nuking the site from orbit (the only way to be sure), is a better way to address that than just tearing up the bike lane.