Safety Bond , which has resulted in the resurfacing of nearly 4,000 blocks in San Francisco and transformative streetscape projects .
Thomas joined the City 30 years ago after graduating from college , and climbed the ranks . He has worked for several divisions within Public Works , including Streets and Highways , Project Management and Construction Management ; as well as in senior project management roles at the Airport and Muni .
Apart from a nine-month stint in Los Angeles working for Caltrans on bridge construction for Interstate 105 , Thomas ’ career has focused on infrastructure projects in the Bay Area , including demolition of the Embarcadero Freeway after the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake and the construction of a new boulevard in its place that opened up the City ’ s central waterfront . He also worked on the Advanced Train Control System for Muni and the Airfield Development program at SFO .
More recently , Thomas led the Laguna Honda Hospital Replacement Project , which had particular significance for him , as he had visited the long-term care hospital as a child and remembers feeling a sense of sadness when looking at the crowded , open wards that offered little privacy to the residents . The new hospital offers a starkly different environment that is more welcoming with a focus on healing and wellness .
Thomas is a third generation San Franciscan whose father and grandfather worked for City agencies . As a child , he routinely scavenged for things around the house to pull apart and put back together ; and in the eighth grade , he announced his plans to become a civil or mechanical engineer . By the time he was in high school , he had read all of his father ’ s shop manuals and successfully rebuilt the transmission on his ’ 65 Mustang .
Today , he plots ways to improve the City ’ s infrastructure for the future while keeping up with the day-to-day demands of residents and commuters . Now a Peninsula resident , his own commute is on Caltrain and bicycle , and in his off time , he cycles an average of 50 miles each week .
Thomas credits Nuru with shaping his thinking of the bigger picture inherent in every Public Works project . “ Mohammed ,” he says , “ has given us an acute awareness of how our projects affect people .”
June 2017 - San Francisco Public Works Newsletter