...I don't get all the hostility toward this guy. It's a ****ed up design, and that concrete block has no business where it is other than
as some sort of "well, don't ride in here full tilt" barrier, which ought to be accomplishable with something less hazardous to all concerned.

If you design a public facility stupidly, part of the eventual equation is lawsuits. And that's how the design will change.