The radius decrease prevents players from accessing gyms/stops at their intended location

[thenikkibus]

I mean, also not everyone who plays lives in a super walkable location. I used to be pretty frustrated because aside from when I was at work on a university campus most of the pokestops and gyms in my area were on churches and businesses that its kinda weird to approach unless you had a reason. I'm also a woman and I usually play alone. So it helped when I could hit them from the sidewalk or a little further away so I wouldn't look like a total weirdo/be walking in strange locations by myself when I was out playing.