One day, we'll all just sit back and laugh about the problems at Forest Hills, right?

When there was a bridge, the through traffic in the photo shown had no lights or other cross traffic from the Arboretum to Forest Hills Cemetery. In short, it was nonstop. Something tells me your memories are a bit hazy.

...that people that don't live in Boston drive through there.

As for the traffic going the other way [to Roslindale, Hyde Park, or West Roxbury], it could be halved if the Orange line was extended or commuter rail zones were adjusted.

The 39, for instance, could bypass traffic on Centre Street, but it would require removing half of the parking in JP on Centre Street, and the business would scream bloody murder. Of course, it's not like anyone can get there right now, but good luck convincing a business person customers might arrive on a bus.

I have no idea what this is and why it has become the new standard. Everyone use to know that a green ball meant go and turn left if there isn't traffic approaching. But MassDOT seems to love it, and cites studies that it makes things safer, although I somehow doubt it.

A half-hearted, poky effort overall -- and next to no effort at all so far for the benefit of bus riders.

...the day before I wrote my post (check the date). I'm under the impression that was also the date of the photo that I was responding to as well.

Raised manhole covers - and sketchy lane markings - throughout the project area absolutely disrupt the speed/comfort/confidence/progress of motor vehicles. Detour tape, cones and closed crosswalks, pathways and desire lines absolutely disrupt the passage of pedestrians and bikes - I don't see how you could dispute that.
Given the state of flux and confusion things are a mess right now throughout, for ALL modes - as I stated.

On the delays: The Mass Historical Commission spent a year considering the conversion of Shea Circle to 'Shea Square' before demolition even began. MBTA blew a year of work on the central plazas fumbling the platform jet fans (their original responsibility rather than the Highway Division), and another 6 months at least foot dragging the upper busway roof design and procurement (not to mention the interior station ADA work which you'll properly complain about for the next few years). MBTA and Highway are both part of MassDOT, but the lack of coordination between these state agencies/departments has been a significant factor in the timeline erosion in my view.

No one ever imagined the construction period was going to be a picnic, but many, many organizations and individuals who participated in and followed the planning process closely believed then and continue to believe now that the END result will be worth it for Forest Hills, JP, the rest of the city and the region.

And I'm not touching your classism or racism charges.

The boxes are camera enforced, so cars that remain the intersection after the light changes get tickets in the mail (and points on their insurance). Also, there is no right turn on red allowed in New York City, so that helps reduce gridlock caused by cars entering the intersection and obstructing the way for cars with a green.

Nice strawman - No one here said anything like that line you "quoted".

Fyi, over a third of the city lies to the south and west of the FH 'terminal'. None of us Bostonians who live in that third are within walking distance of a regular T station.

Also fyi, a great many of us already live without cars. I, for instance, was stuck in that traffic jam, on the 39 bus, with a big-ass package, trying to get to FH so I could take *another* bus, and then walk about a quarter mile up a hill to get home. A one way trip of about 5 miles took nearly an hour and a half.

Before you spout off with holier-than-thou platitudes, take a moment to consider that unlike you, most Bostonians don't live within a couple blocks of a vibrant commercial district with multiple mass transit options at their fingertips.

And the screwed up traffic at FH really is worse than it was - much worse - and it really does affect our lives in substantial, negative ways. It steals hours of time from us every week - and that adds up to days, even weeks of our life every year.

- a former JPer who loves the neighborhood but wishes fewer smug assh*les lived there.

You even hint at the real problem. Instead of finger-wagging about people's transportation choices, we need to support increased building in JP and other transit-accessible areas, so more folks have viable options that don't involve a car. It's obvious that the bulk of traffic moving through FH are residents of areas south and east. They might like to live somewhere like JP and not have to deal with this mess, but they can't afford it because JP doesn't have enough housing units.

It is not the folks driving to CVS and back that are causing the bulk of traffic congestion. It is every day commuters, by and large, including the influx of Uber and Lyft drivers, a sucky public transit system, fewer folks being able to live near were they work, inadequate road system to handle all the traffic, etc.

Since they typically have only 5 guys out there from day to day. But they are probably all union members. All five of them.

It wasn't just cyclists.

It saved $20 million, too.

But, yeah, blame the cyclists.

Forest Hills is a chokepoint for a reason. Lots of roads come together, and between the railroad tracks, cemeteries, and of course the Arboretum, there are a lot of obstructions. At some point, the alternative routes become onerous and you hope the original routes will get better.

But replacing something with basically the same thing would not have caused "far more problems."

Of course, the original study did say that the at grade option would add no more than 45 seconds to the time it would take a vehicle to get from Franklin Park to the Arboretum, so we can see now that the study might have been a little bit off.

-signed, someone who remembers the rehab of the bridge in the 1980s.

I think it's reasonable to assume that the more expensive project would have had proportionally larger budget overruns.