MassDOT’s Casey Arborway plan to bring a six-lane, Melnea Cass-type highway to Forest Hills will entail the destruction of Shea Circle, the planted roundabout that has been part of the Emerald Necklace for almost 100 years. For admirers of Boston’s park system, Shea Circle visually integrates Franklin Park with the grounds of Forest Hills Cemetery. MassDOT wants to uproot the trees and lay out a huge traffic intersection to be called “Shea Square,” a cynical new name perhaps intended to connote urban plazas and shared public space. But a traffic intersection is not a public square, and a highway sliced through our green parkland strikes at the heart of what makes our community unique.
Our elected officials need to know how much we oppose this plan.
Owen Shows
Jamaica Plain
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