1. What is your vision to help people ride and walk safely in our community? What actual steps might you take to achieve your vision? – I will continue to work with parks and public works to make sure our active transportation plan is implemented and being reviewed on a regular basis so we can ensure to get the best, and safest, routes possible for our citizens. I would also continue to make sure we are striving toward interconnectivity within our city and with surrounding cities. 
2. Forty years ago, more than 60% of school children in the US walked or rode a bicycle to school. Today, that figure is less than 10%. This decline in bicycling and walking and physical activity in general has been mirrored by dramatic increases in negative health impacts for kids. What would you do to reverse this trend? What role do you think the city should play in making it safer for children to walk and bike to school? This is something I have not given much thought to but as I was reading it, it took me back to my elementary and middle school days where myself and all of my friends would ride our bikes to school…and almost everywhere. I think the skate park we are building in Washington City will help to get kids out more and more but this does not help much with the kids and riding their bikes to school. I could see working with the school district to plan safe biking/scootering routes to school and maybe incentivizing the kids to ride their bikes/scooters to school. This gets a little more difficult if the kids live some distance away or if the family does not have means to purchase a bike/scooter. We could work with the state to get grants for this to help with these families. We could also have regular “bike rodeos” at the schools to show that riding your bike/scooter to school is something that is fun to do. 
3. Do you agree that Complete Streets (a design philosophy that provides safe accommodations for all Users…vehicles, pedestrians and cyclists) is the approach local municipalities need to take when designing and reconstructing roads. – We need to always keep this in mind as well as the safety of all who use the roads. We need to be teaching this to drivers and to bikers alike so that everyone is on the same page and that one is not better than the other. We need to be on the roads together and we need to be respectful of each other. This can be achieved and we need to work together to make this happen for the betterment of all members of our communities. 
4. Tell us about your personal experiences riding a bike, running or walking for recreation, exercise or transportation. – I currently exercise in our work gym as I don’t like the heat or the cold 😉 and this is why I don’t ride outside. I always say that “bike”, “walk”, “hike”, “run (I spell it runn) and “jog” (I spell it jogg) all have 4 letters and I don’t use four letter words in my vocabulary but admire people who do and applaud them for their efforts in their way of staying fit. These ways are not for me as I prefer to exercise in a climate controlled gym. This is the running joke in our family but my kids love to bike and scooter around the neighborhood and to the local park. 
5. Is there anything else that you would like to share about Active Transportation in Washington County? – We do have an active transportation plan that is slowly being implemented and is also being worked on and reviewed occasionally. Could I do better with this? Yes, and I will do better as we move forward. I am always open to having conversations on how to improve this and our quality of life here in Washington City and can be reached via email at blmartinsen@gmail.com or via text at 435-229-1198

I hope this helps and thank you for sending this out.