Classic London street scene, cars parked the length of the road. In order to make life easier for pedestrians, someone had the very bright idea of creating pavement piers, so the pedestrian could actually see clearly in both directions, their view unobstructed by parked cars.
Hurrah!
However, presumably because, if not here, at other pavement piers, idiot drivers not watching where they are going have taken to driving into the piers (or because some idiot jobsworth has decided that that might happen), a warning bollard has been erected. Not a problem for lone ambulatory people; not so great for people with pushchairs. Although, the lack of a dropped kerb suggests it was never intended for that use. God forbid anybody would wish to cross from a block of social housing to a Primary School/Early Years Centre with a pushchair or holding the hand of a small child.
Every time someone makes a half-hearted attempt to claim back public space for people, some jackass comes along and reasserts the jackboot of the car.
Update: 2030 hours: My mistake, the piers don't exist so that pedestrians stand a better of chance seeing on-coming traffic. Clearly they are for the placing of commercial waste paladins:
photo taken mid-afternoon
