Forest Hills rotary to become a square
By adamg - 5/11/12 - 7:41 am
The Jamaica Plain Gazette has the latest on the plans for a post-overpass world, including the reconstruction of the rotary by Franklin Park into a standard intersection, with a name change from Shea Circle to Shea Square.
Comments
It is well-known that you
It is well-known that you can't square a circle. You'd think someone would tell them!
Reducing parking?
Did I read that right? Is this bizaro Boston?
Willy Wonka totally thought of this first
http://charleneedits.wordpress.com/2010/09/21/roald-dahl-month/
Because knocking down the
Because knocking down the overpass and replacing it with street level congestion isn't bad enough. At least they were kind enough to mention a construction start date in 2014 so I'll know when it's time to move.
your loss
the neighborhoods gain!
"Standard" intersection =
"Standard" intersection = Signalized intersection = Lots and lots of backups
Weird that MassDOT can't accept the fact that a properly designed roundabout can handle far more traffic volume than a signalized intersection, is better for the environment, and slows down traffic. Shea Circle is a disaster because the powers that be allowed it to degrade into a disaster.
Getting rid of the bridge will do wonders for the neighborhood, but trading a "traffic circle" for a dead-stop intersection is a bad idea.
Hate to say it
but the idea is to slow down traffic, and rebuild the square. traffic circles might be more efficient, but they also lead to higher speeds. Which I think s something they're trying to control now that they decided to do away with the overpass and give this land back to the community from the commuters.
Most of the outrage did seem to be people who no longer could zip through this area on their way from A to B. For the community, that's kind of the point.
Traffic circles are used for
Traffic circles are used for traffic calming.
Traffic lights lead to people slamming on the gas to try to catch the end of a yellow light.
Cute little roundabouts are used for traffic calming
Big-ass rotaries, like the one in Forest Hills (or the one that used to be at the end of Rte. 2) were built because they could handle lots of traffic without requiring traffic signals.
Roundabouts are not rotaries or traffic circles
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roundabout#Differences_from_traditional_traffic_circles
A standard intersection be
A standard intersection be bad for vehicular traffic, but it's certainly much better for pedestrians. The Murray Circle rotary at the Arborway & Centre Streets is horrible for those trying to cross on foot.
How about traffic calming
They could use the same rotary design they used by Wonderland T stop in Revere. There are marked lanes, extra islands to separate traffic going from one exit to two. It's very well marked and has done a great job in unsnarling an area know for being a traffic nightmare.
How long
until the paint wears off and it becomes like the free for all rotaries on RT2?
Personally I don't have a problem, but there's a quite a few MA folks that don't seem to understand the rules of a rotary, especially a multilane one, let alone out of state-ers.
And a rotary without stop lights is horribly unfriendly for pedestrians. Especially if you're trying to recreate a mix use neighborhood square.