Two American cities with hugely successful pedestrian malls in their downtown core – St. Augustine, Florida and Boulder, Colorado. During the 1960s and 70s, pedestrian malls were seen as a possible solution to suburban shopping malls. Cities around the country converted their primary downtown shopping street to pedestrian malls in the hopes of stemming the loss of retailers. While some cities have removed their pedestrian malls, a number of others, including the two referenced in this post have been very successful.

https://panethos.wordpress.com/2017/05/19/two-downtown-pedestrian-malls-that-work-and-work-very-well/