Submitted by Thurston County Board of Commissioners
On Tuesday, the Thurston County Board of Commissioners recognized Scott Davis, P.E., Thurston County Public Works Department’s Traffic Engineering and Operations Section Manager, for being named the 2018 David P. Brand Safety Award recipient—a prestigious lifetime achievement award from the National Association of County Engineers.
For more than 20 years, Davis has worked to protect Thurston County residents and visitors by enhancing roadway safety for drivers, cyclists, and pedestrians. Davis developed a systemic roadway safety plan for Thurston County that uses an analysis of collision data and roadway surface conditions when prioritizing safety projects. These projects include enhanced roadway illumination through LED street lights, use of rumble strips to alert drivers when they are drifting off the roadway, traffic islands to narrow travel lanes and reduce speeding, and high friction roadway surface treatments to reduce skidding.
“Thurston County is fortunate to have Scott as a member of our team,” says Bud Blake, Chair of the Board of County Commissioners for Thurston County. “His expertise in local roadway safety is critical to our mission of ensuring the safety and well-being of the County’s many residents and visitors on the roads.”
Davis works closely with many community groups and local regulatory agencies to pilot innovative roadway safety technologies and construct more safety-focused pedestrian improvements through federal grant funding. To date, his efforts have resulted in more than $7 million in additional federal dollars to support roadway safety in Thurston County.
The recent improvements made along the walking route to Lydia Hawk Elementary is an example of Davis’ commitment to public safety. In collaboration with Safe Kids Thurston County and the Washington State Department of Transportation, the Public Works Department was awarded $1.6 million to construct expanded sidewalks, additional crosswalks, traffic islands, and roundabouts in the Tanglewilde neighborhood.
“Some impacts, such as the work of Mr. Davis, are so critical they can be difficult to quantify,” says Danielle King, Coordinator of Safe Kids Thurston County. “There is success in the quiet – the ‘no news’ of pedestrian and transportation safety – where there was once danger. The impact of the Safe Kids Thurston County program would not be felt so greatly in our community if not for the commitment and passion Scott brings to each of our projects.”
For more information about County road and safety projects, visit: http://www.co.thurston.wa.us/publicworks/projects.html
