The City of Boston released several updates for traffic safety this past week in response to the death of advocate and City Traffic Planner Louisa Gag.

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu put out a lengthy statement on Friday reaffirming the city’s commitment to Vision Zero, which is the goal of zero traffic fatalities on the road in a year. The letter mentioned Gag’s death as a catalyst for further improvements to the city’s cycling, pedestrian and traffic infrastructure.

“We remain devastated by the loss of Louisa Gag, a remarkable public servant, advocate, colleague, and friend,” Wu wrote. “Louisa loved Boston and devoted her life to making our city better every day. I know many Bostonians are personally mourning this unfathomable loss while also continuing the fight for safer streets – a movement shaped by Louisa’s leadership, creativity, and compassion. I am grateful to everyone who has shared feedback and ideas with our administration in recent days and months.”

The full six-page letter can be found at https://gvimes.link/wulttrtrffc

The letter was seemingly one piece of a push from the city back to street safety. Many major projects seemingly went dark from the winter of 2026 to this summer. For example, the Roslindale Transportation Action Plan seemingly didn’t have an update from spring 2025 until May of 2026. Another safety improvement project in the Fenway neighborhood at the intersection of Park Drive, Boylston Street and Brookline Avenue lost $8.15 million in federal funds just on June 30. Another $20 million in federal grants were lost for three projects in Roxbury, apparently due to hesitation on the city’s part.

As far as the slowdown in projects, Wu said it was an issue of budgetary concerns.

“Especially in a constrained fiscal environment, it is essential that each street investment is carefully prioritized, designed to be well-integrated into the neighborhood, and built to last.” she wrote.

Wu’s letter detailed that Gag was killed due to an interaction with a truck. She wrote that the first concrete steps she is taking to improve safety on the city’s roads is to solidify the city’s bike lane infrastructure. She wrote that the initial flex posts installed in many bike lanes were to get improvements quickly. However, funding still remains a problem.

“While these materials are useful as interim measures, they are easily damaged and cannot serve as an effective foundation for a permanent network,” she wrote. “Moving forward, we are transitioning to more durable and effective bike lane protections, such as cast-in-place concrete barriers, like those recently installed on Congress Street. These barriers cost less than fully-constructed curbs while providing substantially greater protection and requiring less maintenance. However, critical gaps remain in the protected network, creating unacceptable risks for bike commuters and discouraging others from choosing to ride at all. Given changes in the federal funding landscape, we will focus on completing more critical connections and intersection upgrades rather than concentrating resources on a small number of long corridors. Closing critical gaps will deliver exponential benefits for the entire network.”

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For other safety work, Wu wrote she is looking to install more curb ramps throughout the city to make it easier for residents with disabilities to access the sidewalk. She wrote the city is aiming to rebuild 75,000 square feet of sidewalk this year, after rebuilding 30,000 square feet last year. She said the level of deterioration will determine urgency.

She also touted the city’s construction of 1,435 speed humps in the last four years, but did not expand on any future plans in the letter.

Wu also said they are looking at ramping up enforcement against drivers who double park through bike patrol. She also said the city is advocating for legislation for camera enforcement for speeding, red light, and parking tickets. She added the city is “moving forward” with cameras to enforce school bus stop arm violations.

The letter also included a list of projects for the coming years:

Projects slated for completion in 2026:

Cummins Highway Reconstruction (Mattapan), Beacon Street Safety Upgrades and Resurfacing (Brighton), Dartmouth Street Safety And Mobility (Back Bay), Hyde Park Ave North Segment Resurfacing and Safety Improvements (Jamaica Plain), Lost Village Transportation Safety Improvements (Charlestown), Lower Roxbury Neighborhood Safety Improvements (Roxbury)

Thoreau Path Reconstruction Project (West End), Washington Street Bike Lane Buffer Upgrade and Resurfacing (Downtown), Harrison Ave Reconstruction (South End), and Bluebikes expansion (Hyde Park, Roslindale, and West Roxbury).

Projects slated for completion in 2027:

Ellis Elementary School Safe Routes to School (Roxbury), Jones Avenue Neighborhood Street Improvements (Dorchester), Congress, Sleeper, and A Street Reconstruction (South Boston Waterfront), And more to come in 2027.