More concrete barriers, truck safety rules, parking enforcement: Wu outlines street safety plans after cyclist’s death

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu said Friday that the city will install more concrete bike lane barriers, develop new rules targeting truck safety, and fix sidewalks and curb ramps across the city as part of a plan to improve street safety in the wake of a crash that killed city planner Louisa Gag this month.

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Wu laid out the plans in a letter her office released Friday after weeks of pressure from bike and transit advocates for the city to make Boston’s roads safer.

Gag was hit and killed while cycling on Tremont Street two weeks ago. An 18-wheeler recycling truck had maneuvered around a turning vehicle and collided with Gag before continuing on for at least a few blocks after the collision, the Globe has reported. No one has been charged in the crash.

Through tears, Wu pledged last week to take action as she spoke at a vigil for Gag at City Hall Plaza, and promised to release more details in the coming days.

In her letter Friday, Wu said she is dedicating two senior staff members — Chris Osgood, the city’s former chief of streets and now a senior advisor for infrastructure, and Tali Robbins, Wu’s deputy chief of policy — to the city’s so-called Streets Cabinet. She wrote that the city will also ramp up illegal parking enforcement, upgrade traffic signal timing, and clarify the process for how street improvement projects move forward.

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Wu has drawn criticism after her office slowed a number of streets projects that advocates and residents say would deliver badly needed safety upgrades to dangerous roads.

Thousands of people — including 2,300 Boston residents — signed and delivered an open letter to Wu last week with a series of demands, including that the city “unpause” all delayed streets projects and implement a “build fast and fix later” approach to street improvement work. The letter also called on her to appoint a new chief of streets, and publish a timeline for fixes for every high-crash roadway.

Wu on Friday listed several street improvement projects her administration is aiming to complete during this year and next.

“Boston should be a city where every resident and visitor can move comfortably and confidently, enjoy beautiful public spaces, and feel part of a community that is home for everyone,” Wu said in the letter. “We will carry forward Louisa’s legacy by working to make this vision a reality. There is much more work ahead.”

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This is a developing story and will be updated.