By Nadine St-Jacques
Graffiti artists may soon have free-reign over Ottawa parks and open spaces if City Council approves a budget cut eliminating the removal of non-offensive graffiti.
This month, city staff released its draft operating budget which proposed a $25,000 cut to the graffiti management program.
Although vandalism remains illegal, only graffiti that is racist, homophobic, threatening or sexist will be erased within 24 hours. Spray painting and tagging, a form of so-called “signature” graffiti where vandals claim public spaces by signing their names, won’t be removed, says the draft budget.
The graffiti management program was created three years ago to specifically overcome the graffiti problem in Ottawa. The city gave groups of volunteers the task of erasing graffiti in order to keep the city beautiful. Certain parts of Centretown were targeted, like the former zero tolerance zone on Bank Street which spanned from Gladstone Avenue to Nepean Street.
Paul McCann, who is the coordinator for the program, says approving this cut would be a definite step backwards for Ottawa.
“The city is going to start looking worse,” he says. “All the work that has been done will be lost.”
McCann argues that eliminating the removal of non-offensive graffiti would perpetuate the “broken window” syndrome, which creates an atmosphere of lawlessness that encourages further crime. Another long-term effect is the diminished property values in certain parts of the city.
“The message that goes out when you don’t remove graffiti is that nobody cares and that it’s okay,” says McCann. “It’s a very bad message.”
But street artist Pat Thompson sees the cost-saving measure as a move in the right direction.
“It’s a smart decision,” he says. “Maybe graffiti will grow, but it’s probably best that money be spent elsewhere. There are far better uses of the city’s money.”
Thompson sees preserving arts and culture and other essential services as more of a priority than tackling the graffiti problem. In fact, he believes this may give artists a chance to express themselves.
“I would love to see people do interesting graffiti and use this opportunity to make a difference and make beautiful graffiti and not just “space claiming” graffiti or simple tagging.”
But Thompson, an artist since the age of 13, says he does worry some vandals will take advantage of the situation by painting things other than art.
“I don’t support ignorance graffiti. It’s sort of a projecting a mindlessness in the world,” he says.
And ignorance graffiti is precisely what worries Somerset Ward Coun. Diane Holmes.
“There are people out there who play the signature game,” says Holmes. “It will simply accumulate over time and then it will be more than $25,000 to go and (clean it) when it’s in really bad shape. When there’s far more of it, it will take a much greater amount of time and effort to get it off.”
She says leaving graffiti will give a bad impression to tourists and to Ottawa’s citizens. Holmes is concerned that Ottawa will be viewed as a small city with a small budget, which doesn’t care about safety.
“It’s certainly not good for tourism.”
And although Holmes isn’t sure how she’ll vote on March 24 when council reviews the final budget, she says she’ll take her cue from her constituents at a public consultation meeting on Feb. 24 at the McNabb Community Centre.