Louisa Gag, Longtime Street Safety Advocate, Identified as Thursday’s Crash Victim
Family members have identified the victim of Thursday morning’s homicide crash near Roxbury Crossing as Louisa Gag, a longtime street safety advocate and transportation planner at Boston’s City Hall.
Gag grew up in Roslindale and spent most of her career working for safer, healthier streets in the City of Boston. She spent six years as an advocate with the LivableStreets Alliance before joining city government in early 2022, just after Mayor Wu’s inauguration, to be a transportation planner with the Boston Transportation Department.
Moving into City Hall let her put into action some of the initiatives she had advocated for in the nonprofit sector.
In 2020, while at LivableStreets, Gag was the lead author of “Not On A Shelf,” a 58-page report card on how well the city was implementing its 2017 long-range transportation plan.
She was also deeply involved in the advocacy and action behind city’s “Vision Zero” policy – the international roadway safety initiative that aims to reduce and eliminate the risks of death and injury on city streets.
In 2017, Gag co-authored a guide for cities and advocacy groups to implement Vision Zero action plans – a resource that’s been used in cities across the country.
When her career shifted to City Hall, she was able to put those recommendations into action through initiatives like the Lower Roxbury Slow Streets project, which recently went under construction.
Gag was also facilitating a major citywide expansion in the city’s bikesharing network with dozens of new bikesharing docks in neighborhoods across the city.
In a statement issued Thursday afternoon, Mayor Wu said that she was “absolutely devastated by this unfathomable loss.”
“Louisa led programs and improvements that made our streets safer, our communities stronger, and our residents’ daily lives better. Her legacy will endure in the work she advanced across the City, and in the commitment of her colleagues, friends, and fellow advocates to carry it forward,” said Mayor Wu.
This story will be updated.
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