CREATE Solutions Through Travel and Transportation

CREATE Daily is more than an acrostic — and it is more than where you live and work. It is about whom you are in community with.

Over the past year, I have traveled extensively, studying transportation systems, reviewing hundreds of hotels, restaurants, and modes of travel, all while telling the stories of people, places, and the things that move them. Closer to home, I have served as a communications specialist for rural transportation and Main Street Connections. At one conference, I listened as transportation officials discussed funding challenges and why transportation is so often a nonprofit, grant-seeking endeavor that relies heavily on government agencies and Medicare for support.

What travel and transportation need most is CREATE thinking.

Back in the 1990s, I wrote an op-ed in The Denver Business Journal. While shopping malls were being "repurposed," Light Rail was being built across the metro area. I dared to dream that Light Rail Hubs could become centers of transportation — living, breathing malls linking home, work, and community, with trains running through Cherry Creek, Southwest Plaza, Aurora, and Westminster. That vision could have solved neighborhood blight, accessibility challenges, and design shortcomings — and it should have been seen as a prime investment opportunity for entrepreneurs, banks, and property investors alike.

Rural transportation has that same opportunity today.

CDOT and local agencies can partner with community-rooted entrepreneurs — such as the Colorado Chapter of the Leadon Family Foundation — and collaborate with custom travel solutions and clubs to book business travel and vacations that fund local and regional connections. Travel for shopping, medical appointments, connections to rail, air, and Bustang can become a profit-first endeavor, serving everyone who wants cleaner air, educational opportunities, and access to recreational, cultural, and entrepreneurial experiences — at home, through work, and in community.

The CO Chapter of the Leadon Family Foundation is a think-and-do tank, here to help you explore what's possible. To join us, email Richardbeattie809@gmail.com.