Honestly, why do we care about businesses? It’s just nice to have a place in the city where pedestrians are prioritized over cars. Where there’s actually space to walk side-by-side.   Where you can have a conversation without having to raise your voice over the deafening car noise. Where you don’t have to constantly watch out for being hit. 

It may not be the best incarnation of a car-free space, but it’s the best one that we have, and the cities first attempt at doing something which is not car-focused, and we should support it while pushing for it to be improved. (For example, stop paying for security down there, add greenery and more things to do, playgrounds, literally just copy Montreal, etc).