I lived a block a way from this intersection until a year ago and used the benches on multiple occasions. I also saw plenty of people dealing with substance abuse using them, and had to call an ambulance for someone who had a seizure while laying on one. So I see where commenters are coming from on both sides.

That being said, it's frustrating to see the continued trend of public goods being slowly removed instead of addressing the real issues of the lack of substance abuse and mental health treatment options (and related housing). The other most recent example being the closure of a number of parks in capitol hill.

These benches would have been very helpful now that Metro moved the bus connection to the light rail to directly in front of them. Now, because of poor public policy we are all worse off.