As one of the most coveted and prestigious awards presented by the association, the Top Ten Public Works Leader award is given to honor the public works professional’s career, in which he or she demonstrated excellence in public works, services and infrastructure in his community through advancement of public works services and technology.
“To be nominated for such an incredible award was humbling, and then when I received a call from the George Crombie, APWA National President, to personally share the news of winning the award, it was beyond belief. We get into this business and profession to serve others, not to win awards, but this is an incredible honor that I share with our entire Public Works Family,” said Sacramento Director of Transportation, Jerry Way.
Way has been with the city for more than 30 years, and in his current role he oversees the Transportation Department for the City of Sacramento, which includes five areas of public service: Engineering Services, Traffic Engineering, Parking Services, Street Services, and Urban Forestry, all supported by the Office of the Director. The department of 400 employees serves a population of approximately 462,000 people, with over 3,000 lane miles of roadway, over 40,000 streetlights, over 10,000 parking spaces, 12 parking garages and surface lots, 2,300 miles of sidewalk, over 475 acres of streetscape, 780 signalized intersections, and an urban forest of over 100,000 trees.
In 2008, Way led the campaign to raise awareness of the condition of city trees and the need to maintain and protect one of Sacramento’s most valuable assets and its brand as a “City of Trees.”
In 1992, Way created a curriculum for educating children on traffic safety, safe travel to and from school, the use of seatbelts, walking in crosswalks, watching for cars, bicycle rules, and school bus safety. The program was named the “Captain Jerry Traffic Safety Program” and just celebrated its 19th year.