{"id":5147,"date":"2026-07-17T21:05:18","date_gmt":"2026-07-17T21:05:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=5147"},"modified":"2026-07-17T21:05:18","modified_gmt":"2026-07-17T21:05:18","slug":"wu-facing-blistering-criticism-from-advocates-in-wake-of-cyclists-death-tearfully-vows-to-make-boston-streets-safer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=5147","title":{"rendered":"Wu, facing blistering criticism from advocates in wake of cyclist\u2019s death, tearfully vows to make Boston streets safer"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Amid a vigil of mourners, Mayor Michelle Wu said late Thursday that the city will analyze the road design on Tremont Street where a truck driver hit and killed city planner and cyclist Louisa Gag last week, as part of what she called an enhanced effort to improve street safety while police investigate the crash. <\/span><\/p>\n

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Wu also announced plans to ramp up enforcement of blocked bike lanes across the city, and to install and replace protected bike lane infrastructure. Her administration will share more details in the coming days, she said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Wu spoke through tears as she addressed a crowd of hundreds who had gathered at City Hall Plaza for a vigil in honor Gag\u2019s life and legacy, and said her administration will work to \u201caccelerate\u201d street safety projects she has been accused of slow-walking for more than a year.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

The crowd\u2018s attention was locked in on the visibly emotional Wu as she vowed to deliver on street improvements that a frustrated audience in front of her had come to demand long before last week, and now on behalf of a woman who dedicated her work to the cause. <\/span><\/p>\n

Gag \u201cdevoted her life and career to building a Boston where every resident and every visitor could move through our city safely, with comfort and dignity and confidence, and she was killed on our streets,\u201d said Wu. \u201cI can\u2019t stop thinking about Louisa. We owe Louisa more than our grief. We owe her action. We have to do better.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The Globe has previously reported that Wu began requiring her personal approval for most street projects involving design changes to move forward last year, as she faced vocal criticism over new bike and bus lanes from both her then-mayoral opponent and from some residents and motorists. Some city employees and transit advocates who spoke to the Globe raised the alarm that Wu was stalling a number of projects they said would deliver badly needed safety upgrades to dangerous roads. <\/span><\/p>\n

Wu has said street safety remains a priority for her administration, but her remarks Thursday evening were a notably explicit commitment to take concrete steps towards that end. <\/span><\/p>\n

Kim Foltz, Gag\u2019s boss on the team that oversees the city\u2019s public bike share system, was among the many colleagues and loved ones Thursday who shared their memories of Gag \u2014 particularly her kindness, warmth, and passionate drive to expand bike access and safety in Boston. But Foltz also hinted at the recent turmoil in the city\u2019s so-called Streets Cabinet under Wu\u2019s leadership. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cEven before last Thursday, the Streets Cabinet was a pretty challenging place; we\u2019ve been in transition for the last 18 months,\u201d Foltz said. \u201cWe have all had to navigate through frustration, anger, ambiguity. When I found myself struggling, the person I would turn to was Louisa.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHer kindness, her joy, her empathy, her sense of integrity \u2014 these are things I cherished in her, and they are things I will continue to draw on,” Foltz continued. \u201cMaybe, if we really try to do like Louisa would do, together we can prevent the next unthinkable, preventable tragedy.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Wu appeared to acknowledge the frustration bike and transit advocates have felt with her administration, saying she \u201cstruggled\u201d to decide whether to go to Thursday\u2019s vigil, unsure if her presence \u201cwould help the healing that is so needed for a community in such grief and pain.\u201d She said she ultimately chose to attend after Gag\u2019s parents encouraged her to do so, and emphasized her commitment to achieving Gag\u2019s dream of a Boston where no pedestrian, cyclist, or motorist loses their lives on the city\u2019s streets.<\/span><\/p>\n

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That\u2019s \u201cthe city that she was working toward to build every day, the city that she would have built over the next few decades if she could,\u201d Wu said. \u201cThat is the city of Boston that we will make real. I\u2019m so sorry for all of your loss.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Stacy Thompson, who hired and closely worked with Gag during her time at the nonprofit LivableStreets, told the Globe Friday that Wu and her office have been working closely with advocates since Gag\u2019s death on what policy steps would achieve that goal. <\/span><\/p>\n

While many are still frustrated with Wu, her words Thursday left some advocates with \u201ctrepidatious, cautious optimism,\u201d Thompson said. \u201cThe proof will be in what the mayor is able to produce over the next couple of weeks. … Advocates have been loud and clear about what they want and need, and now they\u2019re they\u2019re waiting for more details.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Ahead of Thursday\u2019s vigil, advocates went to Wu\u2019s office to deliver a blistering open letter signed by 4,000 people \u2014 about 2,300 of whom are Boston residents \u2014 demanding that Wu take a series of actions to address street safety issues in the city.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe have told you, in public and to your face, that continued delay on street safety would cost lives,\u201d the letter reads. \u201cLast week it cost the life of Louisa Gag \u2014 a transportation planner in your own administration who devoted her career to making our streets safe.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The letter has five specific demands of Wu and her administration: unpause all delayed streets projects within 30 days and publicize construction timelines; restore funding for those projects in the city\u2019s budget; implement a \u201cbuild-fast-and-fix-later\u201d approach to the projects instead of \u201cwaiting for perfect designs and unanimous approval\u201d; appoint a permanent Chief of Streets who will prioritize eliminating traffic deaths; and publish a timeline for improvements for every high-crash roadway.<\/span><\/p>\n

The letter demands that Wu respond in writing to the requests by July 31.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cNone of us is willing to raise our families in a city whose leadership will not answer for preventable deaths on its own streets,\u201d the letter reads. \u201cWe are asking you to do what is right. And if you cannot or will not, you will have forfeited the trust a mayor needs to govern \u2014 and no study or prolonged consensus project will win it back.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

In the week following Gag\u2019s death, authorities have released few details about the circumstances surrounding the crash, citing the ongoing investigation. But new information came to light Thursday night, when two sources familiar with the investigation told the Globe that a driver of an 18 wheeler recycling truck hit and killed Gag after maneuvering around another car on Tremont Street. <\/span><\/p>\n

Both sources shared details about the fatal crash on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak about the case. <\/span><\/p>\n

It was not immediately clear if officials began considering for the area in 2023 would have prevented the crash. The driver of the truck has not been identified and has not been charged with any crime. The new details do not indicate whether there was any wrongdoing. <\/span><\/p>\n

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Sean Cotter of the Globe staff contributed to this report. <\/i><\/span><\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

City officials will also conduct an analysis of the street design where Louisa Gag was killed alongside the police investigation. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5146,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5147","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics"],"yoast_head":"\nWu, facing blistering criticism from advocates in wake of cyclist\u2019s death, tearfully vows to make Boston streets safer - Boston Relocation Insider<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=5147\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Wu, facing blistering criticism from advocates in wake of cyclist\u2019s death, tearfully vows to make Boston streets safer - 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