A comparative study of a qutrit (three-level atomic system) coupled to a classical field in a typical Markovian reservoir (free space) and in a photonic band-gap (PBG) crystal is carried out. The aim of the study is to assess the collective impact of structured environment and classical control of the system on the dynamics of quantum coherence, non-Markovianity, and estimation of parameters which are initially encoded in the atomic state. We show that the constructive interplay of PBG material as a medium and classical driving field as a part of system results in a significant enhancement of all the quantum traits of interest, compared to the case when the driven qutrit is in a Markovian environment. Our results supply insights for preserving and enhancing quantum features in qutrit systems which are promising alternative candidates to be used in quantum processors instead of qubits.