Williams gets ready for the tree

640-1116-treeWILLIAMS — While snow fell, the City of Williams prepared for the reception of the annual Christmas tree on Second Street next to The Gallery in Williams. Williams received light snow throughout the day starting at about 9 a.m. while Flagstaff had already received a significant snowfall of at least 4″ overnight.

There were some reports of vehicles sliding on I-40, but no injury accidents.

The weather forecast shows snow before 8 p.m. tonight clearing up to mostly sunny tomorrow. The temperature will rise through the week to the upper 50s by Friday and lowering to mid-50s over the weekend. The temperatures in Flagstaff are expected to be about the same.

Governor’s Office of Highway Safety grants boost ADOT crash data efforts

PHOENIX — Grants from the Arizona Governor’s Office of Highway Safety are enabling the Arizona Department of Transportation to improve collection of crash data from law enforcement agencies around the state.

Grants of $508,600 for federal fiscal year 2015 and $106,000 for federal fiscal year 2016 continue to address what had been a cumbersome process of manually reviewing volumes of documents received and then entering them in a database. ADOT is responsible under state law for compiling crash data and creating comprehensive reports from it that government agencies, nonprofit groups and other entities statewide use to improve traffic safety.

The grant funding is allowing ADOT to help more agencies make use of an online system for submitting crash data.

“The grant awards received from the GOHS supports ADOT’s initiative to improve the process of collecting crash data,” ADOT Director John Halikowski said. “ADOT is proud to be at the forefront through the use of technology to process the crash data received from reporting law enforcement agencies and create vital reports that become the source for making Arizona streets and highways safer.”

The first grant from the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety directly supports work performed by the ADOT Traffic Records Unit to develop reports from the crash data. The second further supports the agency’s electronic reporting efforts.

“Being partners with ADOT and other agencies in state government produces results that can be used to coordinate highway safety programs throughout Arizona and is a model of cooperation in this administration,” said Alberto Gutier, director of the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety.

The Arizona Governor’s Office of Highway Safety is the focal point for highway safety issues in Arizona. The cabinet agency provides leadership by developing, promoting and coordinating programs; influencing public and private policy; and increasing public awareness of highway safety.