#977 Sidewalk Butting

So I was walking downtown the other day and I had to suddenly scrinch and dodge and nearly butt into another bunch of pedestrians. I hadn’t been paying attention and I wondered what was the cause of this abrupt constriction of traffic flow.
Then I saw it. A coffee shop/bar/restaurant had erected permanent poles and crossbars and cordoned off an area of the sidewalk in front of its establishment.
The sidewalk, normally about six to eight feet wide, was now half that. It was a perfect example of one person’s selfish interest inhibiting the interests of the other downtown merchants. It’s like the guy decided to park a big delivery truck outside his store and take up one lane of the street, but worse, he parked it there permanently.
What an effective shortsighted way to discourage downtown shopping. This, the same downtown that has worked hard to remove sitting idlers from lounging against walls and sticking their feet out into pedestrian flow.
So tell me, do the downtown merchants own the sidewalk in front of their stores? Is 4 feet of every frontage theirs to do with as they like, erecting permanent sunk-in-the-concrete poles and pylons, placing chairs and tables around, effectively increasing their square footage and seating capacity without increasing their rent?
Can they now place inflammable, combustible, and explosive propane heaters in that same space, belching carbon monoxide to the respiratory sensitive? Or can they openly defy the 25-foot rule and corral in all their personal smokers? Providing them a cloudy haven so they don’t wander down the street with their butts and their business. And what’s with the open containers of beer any other person on the un-cordoned sidewalk would be cited for?
The establishment itself pays the price of course. What potential non-smoker customer wants to run the gauntlet of hackers as he is forced to elbow his way to the entrance, fending off a noxious cloud of secondhand lung exhaust and butt squeezings?
Did I mention they inconvenienced me in my peaceful stroll down the sidewalk?
America, ya gotta love it.