Hi Udarian,
Thanks for reaching out. My understanding from the OSM Wiki page https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Tag:area:highway_pedestrian is that area:highway=pedestrian is the area representation of highway=pedestrian. Which is why it was removed and area:highway=pedestrian was retained.
Based on the wiki, I am inclined to update the tags on the existing footpath to highway=pedestrian rather than a complete revert. Let me know what you think.
Happy Mapping,