I posted the colour version of this yesterday.
Barbee kindly left an interesting comment. This is part of if:
What surprised me was that it looked stronger in the small copy of the photo that appeared in my Follow reading list lead. When I clicked on it to read the complete post, I was taken aback with the loss of impact. I had to look at it for a minute to "see" it again. Then there is the surreal quality of the detached walkers going somewhere. At least that is the way I see it.
I found this interesting and helpful. Maybe this picture was 'born to be black and white'?
I've tried various monochrome versions. (Colour too.) It's possible to make it bright and clear and detailed. It's possible to provide sharp contrasts; bring prominence to the walkers; all sorts of things. But, the one I keep coming back to is this. It's murky. Everything is dull. This is how it was on the day. Dull day. Dull street. And that is what struck me.
Hopefully, the dullness of dull black and white is more striking than colour.