No Parking on Park Benches

I have really romantic notions around park benches. I think of them as a critical part of the mosaic that can transform a few city blocks from an anonymous grid of houses and shops into a neighbourhood.
To the north of our apartment is great stretch of park littered with benches - many of them looking out to the sea with the mountains and the downtown peninsula as a backdrop. We sometimes go down to the water at sunset with a coffee. I wouldn't dare complain about these benches. They are comfortable enough, wooden benches. Although they are designed for three they rarely hold more than two people. It isn't these benches that irk me.
Up the hill to the south of us is our stretch of shops. It is a cute neighbourhood. Far from any mall, it offers a great variety of unique stores. People tend to walk up and down the six or more blocks that it stretches. While I don't get tired on the way and need a spot to rest, some surely do. And while it isn't the place to watch the sunset, it still has a pretty side to it. So I have to stop and wonder what our city was thinking with there newest installation of benches.
Take this bench for example. It is caught between popular sections of the main street and is pushed off to the side street. At first I thought, with the gravel patch around it, that it was something as utilitarian as a bus stop, but there are no buses on this sidestreet. And while I'm not that fond of a backless bench at a bus stop, it would be better than nothing. Instead this bench is for everyone.
Is it meant to entice you to sit for a while and gaze out at the intersection? Notice that this backless metal bench is subdivided into three equal sections. Are we to think that the popularity of this bench is so high that it needs to be partitioned. Why would our government install this bench? Certainly not for people to sit on. Is it meant to be decoration?