Presumably due to now having to wait at the traffic lights which could be previously avoided by using the tunnel.
Bingo.
Guy
to be fair, from the aerial shot, that “roundabout” was a joke.
The bus tunnel looked cool though
I often pass by this intersection on my way to work in Xindian. The buses are awful, especially once you get to the New Taipei part (where the dedicated bus lanes end).
Really sad to see Taipei fuck up this intersection.
I’ve had a few chances to go through here on my bicycle recently. Honestly, I like it better now. Usually I’m going south to north, so off the bridge and then up 基隆路. I feel 100% safer than before. Before when you were going from the light next to the BBQ/KTV/theater toward 基隆路 you’d have people going between all the lanes at will with no signaling, sometimes even going from the inner circle and suddenly turning right off to one of the smaller roads. Now, traffic is basically just going straight and the riders by me feel much more predictable. 
Does anyone remember when that bridge from Yung Ho to the Gonguan roundabout had a toll station. It was toll for cars only. That’s going back a long while.
I ride a bus across the roundabout almost every day. Feels like the traffic flows smoother now.
I drive through the roundabout daily to and from work, usually on a Youbike (Car if it’s raining) coming from Wanlong St. and heading on to Keelung Rd..
Traffic heading North on Roosevelt Rd. is much much worse after the change. Every morning cars and busses are now backed up all the way to Xinglong Rd.. That was never the case before.
I can see that other parts of the roundabout now feel safer, especially on a bicycle but overall I still can not understand how they came to the decision to close the dedicated bus tunnel, the only good part about the whole thing.
Also the amount of traffic wardens (?) and police now necessary, being basically stationed all around the new roundabout directing traffic, just shows that its horrible design.
I come from Yonghe and block your way. Sorry! 
I think the police are there for the time being only, until people get used to the new design.
I’ve noticed that traffic in general, especially during rush hour, has been worse in Taipei since the change. About 10 minutes has been added to my commute, both to and from work. Even more if it’s raining and I take the bus. I hope Chiang suffers for it politically, but I doubt he will.
This. No matter how good or bad a road design is, if the populace cannot understand how to use roadways, it’s all in vain. My home country of Canada I just revisited after a very long hiatus. They are introducing roundabouts a LOT now. And people are complaining beyond comprehension. Roundabouts work really well. But like a steak knife, or chopsticks, if a person is literally mentally retarded and unskilled enough with the tool, they won’t navigate the layout of the situation very well. That’s on drivers to nut up and drive better.
Meanwhile the government paints passing lanes on hills and corners causing massive accidents on the daily. Amongst many other clear retardation of official rules and layouts. Entire groups online pointing this out. I mean, it’s easy enough to see in any town any where in this country of Taiwan.
So, ya.
Just like the retarded auntie that can’t figure out a road way line or color of lights (color blindness is a fun common excuse here, but brightness of lights kills that excuse right quick). Can’t the government, spending billions of dollars, and theoretically employing “smart” people to figure out these things, understand letting people pass on hills and turns is akin to manslaughter in any other situation? I mean the one way passing lane style with yellow solid and dotted exists here. Taipei to yilan tunnel is a good example, which means the government not only comprehend the idea of a one way passing situation, but has implemented it. Cluster fuck on all sides. The government needs to step up first though, if they expect anyone to drive better. So extremely beyond retarded here one wonders if the ineptitude isn’t some kind of conspiracy against delivery drivers and moms with kids on scooters 
joking, of course. They probably really are just retarded. At least let’s hope that’s the reason, the alternative of intionality is far darker.
Does that ever happen here?
This New Jersey expat captured it on film and can feel you pain.
Nice find.
Miao Bo-ya taking apart Taipei City’s claims that replacing the traffic circle improved traffic.
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There the police men power deployed at the intersection is increased by 6.5 times even after the so called initial transitional period. It used to take 1 police officer and 1 volunteer to direct traffic 2 hours in the morning and 2 hours at night for the traffic circle. Now the intersection is taking 4 police officers and 9 volunteers and 7 hours all together to direct traffic for the intersection.
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The total pileup length for the traffic circle released by the city includes data from non-rush-hours, and yet the city compared it with the pileup length for the traffic circle during rush hours. The actual pileup length during rush hours is 5.6 times that of the old traffic circle.
If it takes to have 6 policemen there for people not to get ran over, so be it. Maybe the city government should have just left the intersection the same and added more police monitoring in the first place.
Was thru that intersection a few times this past week on scooter. It seems to flow better now. People just resist change. It won’t be a topic of discussion in due time.
I use public transport. It is unambiguous that these changes have increased transport times for buses (i.e. this mode of public transport has been deprioritized due to an active change made by Taipei City planners). In 2025, I reserve the right to point this fact out.
Guy
At the expense of transit users.
Which means this will push people to choose driving which will inevitably slow down cars and transit users.