I see there's a lot of opinion in this thread, so I'll add mine.
I do enjoy travel in this game. I like navigating the city, and something about the mundaneness of waiting for the train is refreshing. Even though I have LRTP on (one of) my main character, I almost never use it because I'd rather run or TP to the train. So I don't necessarily care what happens with these dozen or so portal options, I'll just continue not using them, but I will say that that uninhibited access to portals at all levels absolutely affects perceived liveliness of the zones. Of course there's still intra-zone travel after TPing to a zone, but that travel is one-way. That's half the travel cut out of each zone, and it's noticeable, especially when every low level character can do it with little to no investment.