HOW do you think that experiment went then?

You know, closing George Square to traffic - or did you not notice?

Just before the start of the European Championships, Council Leader Susan Aitken announced that the closing of the civic centre of the city would act as a litmus test for how residents feel about pedestrianising the area around George Square.

Poll: Want to give your view on George Square car ban? Here's how

It was hard to tell. Due to the event on in the Square itself, the whole thing taken over by the Championships, it was difficult to get a sense for what a traffic free haven in the heart of the city would really be like.

And the only obvious benefit in the past two weeks was being able to walk about in the road without looking.

So we'll see what feedback the council gets and the impression locals had of the two-week test.

Using a bit of imagination, then, what could the heart of the City Centre be like without traffic?

Poll: Want to give your view on George Square car ban? Here's how

Pretty delightful, if the council agrees to replicate my daydreams to the letter.

Firstly, we copped out of doing something progressive and impressive with George Square in 2013.

The city roundly rejected then-council leader Gordon Matheson's six designs for the area.

But we need to have another crack at it. The Square was kept bland to ensure it can be easily turned into an event space, to help pay its keep.

Imagine, though, water features, more plants and trees, an innovative design.

Poll: Want to give your view on George Square car ban? Here's how

Tourists will arrive at Queen Street Station, step out of the new glass-fronted building and... what do we want them to see? Something bland or something breathtaking?

Then, once that's taken care of, an outdoor cafe culture encouraged. More people meeting and socialising, a bustling, pulsing buzz.

To get support for this, we need to convince drivers that the road changes won't be too onerous.

Poll: Want to give your view on George Square car ban? Here's how

In Edinburgh it has just been announced that the capital will have regular car-free days to encourage cycling and use of public transport.

Paris does this too, to cut pollution, so they're in good company.

I'd be keen to see how that would go down in Glasgow, particularly after the huffing and puffing over the road closures last Wednesday.

Some people are so wedded to their vehicles that only compulsion will part them. I have a very dear friend who takes the car to the corner shop. She'll drive to the city centre even though she lives in spitting distance of a train station.

Another friend drives every day from Charing Cross to the City Centre. You won't persuade people who see public transport as the enemy - you have to force them.

Poll: Want to give your view on George Square car ban? Here's how

Of course, on Wednesday last week it didn't help that ScotRail malfunctioned and a host of trains went off.

If we're going to have Traffic Free Tuesdays - like Meat Free Mondays but vehicular - then we need to have top notch alternative transport. Comfortable, punctual with buses running on routes that are actually useful. Oh, and let's get it connected up.

It's madness that we still can't transfer from train to bus to subway with one ticket.

Poll: Want to give your view on George Square car ban? Here's how

Drivers resist the idea that cars can be used less, they hate to feel punished with rising parking costs.

But we just can't afford the extravagance of being a driving city any more.

Making more of the City Centre car free is best for our health and the health of the environment.

Glasgow's City Centre needs a radical overhaul. Let's start with its heart.

Poll: Want to give your view on George Square car ban? Here's how