Businesses may benefit from this move. People driving past in cars are unlikely to stop by a local business in Manhattan. People passing by on foot are much more likely to.
The article has evidence of modal shift. Car journeys are down, but both subway ridership and foot traffic are up.
Reducing traffic has other benefits in terms of making a place more liveable. If a street is full of vehicle traffic and noisy, it is a place people don't want to be & so pass through quickly. If you make the space nicer, people are more likely to want to dwell and spend money with local businesses & restaurants.
Manhattan can be quite unpleasant at times, but it's been really nice to see recent efforts to try to improve that:
- Partial pedestrianisation of broadway
- The 14th Street busway
- New protected bike lanes