

Not same story, but some points in common:
In Valencia, after a flood, they diverted a river. The plan was to use the new available space for an urban highway (it was the sixties…), but thanks to people push back it was turned into e beautfult park
https://metropolismag.com/projects/how-valencia-turned-crisis-river-into-park/
There are plenty of cities around the world with downtowns closed to cars, and a lot of thriving stores.
There are solutions, this is not an excuse to to allow cars in city centers