File photo. 

Less than a month ago, Councilmember Rex Richardson launched his initiative to beautify parts of District Nine with his Creative Corridor Challenge—asking for Long Beach residents to submit their most creative ideas through October 31.

This month, he’s sponsoring a free bike tour of the area with Empact Communities, a bike advocacy and education hub. The tour will commence on Sunday, October 25 at 10:00AM, beginning at Houghton Park.

“Please bring your working bike to Houghton Park for a great tour,” said Danny Gamboa, leader of Empact Communities, in a statement. “We’re riding a loop for a pedestrian-eye view of the city fabric and hoping to inspire riders to submit ideas for the Creative Corridor Challenge.”

According to an earlier release from Richardson’s office, Richardson has allocated $50,000 to support the community-driven Creative Corridor projects, which consist of tree planting, mural installations, vacant building activation/beautification, vacant lot activation/beautification and public art and utility box beautification.

“We’re excited to have Empact Communities in Uptown providing access to safe, fun bike activities and amazing opportunities like re-imagining our major corridors,” said Sean Duren, executive director of the Uptown Property and Community Association.

Creative Corridor ideas can be submitted via email, if one cannot attend the launch, to [email protected] by October 31. Entrants are asked to include pictures, project description(s) and the address/cross street of their ideas within each submission.

Houghton Park After-School Center is located at 6301 Myrtle Avenue. To RSVP, call 562.570.6137 or email [email protected].