Should MG Road area be pedestrianized?

A peak into what the some of the authorities think about an issue that we have been discussing here at praja. We have been discussing a hypothetical test case to see how metro would work - say you come to MG road by metro then how do you move around the area then. say to commercial street, magrath road etc etc... So I thought it was exciting that some officials were discussing the same problem and with the same area as a test case.

BMTC - Upendra Tripathi's ideas ...
*Banning private vehicles and using only public transport (metro, BMTC buses and auto) in M G Road would help the traffic problems in this area.
* BMTC is ready to provide buses every five minutes and bus stops at a distance of 300 metres on M G Road.
* Turning M G Road and Brigade Road into pedestrian zones could be the other way. For this, shops and roads must be on the same level.
*In Delhi, during metro work, private transport was banned in the area, where work was on but in Bangalore, public transport is banned.

ACP, Traffic-East, M B Mallikarjuna Swamy counters....
*Banning private vehicles and depending only on the public transport is not a workable suggestion. There will be a big hue and cry from the public for private transport.
*All the agencies concerned with the issue must work out a solution together. A policy decision has to be made by the Government.
*The only solution can be road networking, roads over roads and flyovers over flyovers like Bangkok. Many global players can come forward if the State Government invites a global tender. The flyovers should connect the outskirts of the city, passing through the central and busy parts of the city. The Build- Operate- Own- Transfer (BOOT) system would work for such networking.

The Tripathi and Swamy have taken extreme positions. So what do you guys think?

Shibuya, Tokyo seems to have everything one of the busiest railway stations in Tokyo, flyovers, buses, and pedestrian friendly streets. [Generally, look around for Shibuya pics in flickr, very lively place. ;)]

What should we do? MG Road area is high impact intervention, ideas from there can then be implemented in other parts of the city.

Also check this magazine that contains articles about efforts at pedestrianization. It is an interesting read. It also has some articles on BRTS. Makes for some really nice sunday afternoon reading.