Cities allow road users to mess up traffic all the time.
Got a large vehicle that blocks multiple lanes while turning? No problem. Heavy 18-wheelers that fuck up the road surface? We're pro-business. Trash collectors need to stop to collect trash? Of course they do. Customers trying to parallel park block a complete lane of traffic, in addition to the lane of on-street parking? No worries. Taxis want to stop traffic to pick up customers? Sure thing. Delivery drivers want to double park? Well, you gotta deliver somehow, just make it quick. Parked vehicles blocking the cycle lane? Well you'll just have to go around. Slow cyclist in a narrow street? They've got every right to be there. Hire scooters all over the sidewalk? Yeah, that happens.
I'm not sure the comparison to toxic waste dumping is really warranted.
At least in NYC, nearly all of these have corresponding taxes, levies, or outright bans. For example, the city charges additional taxes against both taxi operators and riders to compensate the public for the congestion they induce[1].
Similarly, 53’ trailers are outright illegal in NYC (because they destroy the road surface, as you mentioned, and can’t navigate the city safety). Enforcement is currently poor, however.
The point is this: using city streets to trial-run experimental technology is something new and distinct, and it isn’t immediately clear to me why the public shouldn’t be compensated for the bother.
Got a large vehicle that blocks multiple lanes while turning? No problem. Heavy 18-wheelers that fuck up the road surface? We're pro-business. Trash collectors need to stop to collect trash? Of course they do. Customers trying to parallel park block a complete lane of traffic, in addition to the lane of on-street parking? No worries. Taxis want to stop traffic to pick up customers? Sure thing. Delivery drivers want to double park? Well, you gotta deliver somehow, just make it quick. Parked vehicles blocking the cycle lane? Well you'll just have to go around. Slow cyclist in a narrow street? They've got every right to be there. Hire scooters all over the sidewalk? Yeah, that happens.
I'm not sure the comparison to toxic waste dumping is really warranted.