I think the problem is that 9/10 people involved are nerds who genuinely want good things and then 1/10 is a jackbooted jerk who doesn't care about your things

I think the problem is that 9/10 people involved are nerds who genuinely want good things and then 1/10 is a jackbooted jerk who doesn't care about your things except as a means to implementing their jackboot fantasies and the little details they champion poison the whole effort. Like for example having a traffic restricted at certain times road is fine and all. But implementing it with surveillance cameras knowing full well that "gotcha" tickets will be issued to out-of-towners, the system will be laden with all the perverse incentives that red light cameras are known for and that there's some yet to be defined permitting process (i.e. avenue for graft, preferential treatment of various types of uses, etc). Just put a fucking gate on it during the times you want it closed and call it good. Why do they always have to go 1984 like this? Like imagine they did this with a park or some other taxpayer funded resource that's equally open for public use. People wouldn't stand for it.