Putting that curb there was really stupid. There are numerous alternatives that would have been much safer, like replacing some of those plastic bollards with steel or cement bollards or making curbs with sloped sides so that at least someone on a bike would be more likely to go over it rather then go over their handlebars. Or they could put a couple of bollards on top of it to make it more obvious 'don't go here'.
Interestingly, they say it's to keep cars from backing in to the kiosk. Apparently it's OK for a car to back in to a pedestrian standing in the crosswalk, but not in to a citibike kiosk.
And, yes, people are expected to ride there. When I pull bikes out I often get on right there, look for cars coming, and then ride out. The same thing that just about every other citibike user does. I've almost hit those things myself.
I'm not a big fan of idiot-proofing the world we live in, but putting something like that where someone can reasonably be expected to ride raises the question of needing to idiot-proof the hiring process in NYC.