WILLIAMS — Another Clean and Beautiful event passes despite inclement weather. The weather cleared up later on in the event allowing citizens to clean up around Williams.
Northern Arizona Gazette collected three bags of trash plus two separate bags of recyclable materials.
The event ended with a barbecue by the members of the American Legion Cordova Post #13.
Some even came in their classics.
PHOENIX — Less than a year ago, it was uncertain how long Arizona driver licenses and identification cards would continue getting residents through airport security. When a state law that took effect in July 2015 allowed the Arizona Department of Transportation to create a credential complying with the federal REAL ID Act, Motor Vehicle Division employees had to move quickly to make it happen.
Today, the state has a Voluntary Travel ID and an assurance from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security that current credentials will be accepted at airports and restricted federal facilities until Oct. 1, 2020. In late April, federal officials formalized that by certifying the Voluntary Travel ID.
The achievement follows exhaustive work by MVD employees who, facing a deadline of April 1, 2016, created not only a credential meeting all 39 security requirements of the REAL ID Act but the processes and procedures needed to make it available to customers.
“Governor Ducey has challenged state agencies to operate at the speed of business, and our dedicated MVD team did just that to create this new Travel ID on such a tight schedule,” Motor Vehicle Division Director Eric Jorgensen said. “Thanks to their hard work, Arizonans now have time to decide if and when they want to get one.”
Sixty team members worked to create the new credential. Many wrote code within MVD’s computer system for the new ID and had to distinguish it from the standard driver license and ID card since state law gives people the option of getting a Travel ID, a process that took months to complete.
MVD also went through a series of tests with the vendor that prints Arizona’s driver licenses and ID cards to ensure the information was transmitting correctly. The vendor, in turn, had to ensure the credential would integrate with MVD systems. The computer system had to be tested as well to verify that records were being properly created.
“In addition to all of the computer programming, we had to train hundreds of staff members and Authorized Third Party employees to learn the new process for issuing the Voluntary Travel ID and develop new forms and policies as well,” MVD Driver License Specialist Madelene Carbajal said. “At the end of the day, we had dozens of employees spending thousands of hours on this project.”
Because the Voluntary Travel ID is in place and approved by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, there’s no rush for Arizonans to get one. Everyone applying for renewal or first-time driver licenses and ID cards has the option, and those who wish to convert current driver licenses and ID cards may do so at select MVD offices by making appointments at ServiceArizona.com. In addition, 24 Authorized Third Party partners offer driver licenses services and can convert existing licenses or IDs.
To learn more about the Voluntary Travel ID, please visit azdot.gov/TravelID.
PHOENIX — Community members, businesses and stakeholders are invited to provide their input and ideas to shape the long-range vision for Arizona’s transportation system during a workshop in Phoenix next week.
The workshop, scheduled for Thursday, May 12, from 1 to 3:30 p.m., will be held at the Maricopa Association of Governments, 302 N. First Ave. in Phoenix.
The meeting is the last in a series of more than a dozen statewide workshops hosted by ADOT. These “Think Ahead about Transportation” workshops, which began in January, help shape ADOT’s Long-Range Transportation Plan, also known as What Moves You Arizona, which is updated every five years. The Long-Range Plan looks 25 years down the road to determine the best mix of investment to preserve, modernize and expand the state transportation system with the resources available.
While ADOT’s Long-Range Transportation Plan is not project-specific, it identifies priorities based on current and projected transportation funding over the next 25 years. Because limited revenues will not meet all current and future transportation needs, it’s up to the public, policymakers and communities to tell ADOT what’s important to them.
More than 350 people representing more than 150 organizations around Arizona participated in the previous statewide workshops. A full report on all the workshops will be posted on the long-range plan website once the MAG workshop is completed. The next round of public comment opportunities will include another set of workshops, along with an interactive online tool that will allow people to weigh in on the criteria that will be used to select improvement projects in the future.
A reliable transportation system is vital, as people and commerce move through a statewide network to get to where they’re going. To keep pace, the transportation needs of tomorrow take planning and investment to ensure that Arizona stays competitive and meets the needs of a growing state.
Visit azdot.gov/whatmovesyouarizona for more information on ADOT’s Long-Range Transportation Plan. You can leave a comment at azdot.gov/whatmovesyouarizona/comments. The final version of the plan is expected to be complete in early 2017.
For those interested in attending next week’s Phoenix workshop, please RSVP by emailing Dillon Kennedy at dkennedy@azdot.gov or call 602.712.7106.