By Joe Sambol
City council has targeted traffic control boxes and concrete structures for graffiti clean-up.
At its Jan. 8 budget meeting, council allocated $65,000 towards cleaning the grey traffic boxes and $345,000 for structures such as bridge underpasses.
Earlier options considered by the Transportation and Transit Committee also included funding for traffic poles and traffic signs, but a limited budget prevented these from being part of the graffiti removal plan this year.
The budget approval comes on the heels of a $50,000 zero tolerance pilot project which ran from early August to September 2002.
The project focused on removing graffiti from Rideau and Bank streets, where graffiti levels are especially high.
The grey control boxes, commonly found at intersections, “seem to be the right size and height to attract graffiti,” said committee member and Somerset Ward Coun. Elisabeth Arnold.
“The boxes are on every corner, so they are highly visible,” adds Clive Doucet, vice-chairman of the committee and councillor for Capital Ward.
He says that’s why they are a priority.
Although rural areas will receive some attention, most of the money will be spent in urban sections of Ottawa.
“We’re focusing on where the problem is the most severe, and that tends to be downtown,” said committee member and Innes Ward Coun. Rainer Bloess.
Urban areas that have high exposure and visibility to tourists and residents will be made a priority for cleaning.
“Graffiti removal will mostly be done in the Centretown area,” Doucet said. “Basically, the areas where tourists come.”
The removal will be done on a zero tolerance basis, meaning maintenance will be done all year as opposed to an annual city-wide sweep.
“The graffiti is evaluated on a weekly basis and is reported in by workers,” said Dale Philpotts, director of surface operations for the City of Ottawa.
“We then respond to those requests.”
Once reported, city staff will remove the graffiti and apply
a repellent coating, which makes the graffiti hard to repeat, Philpotts says.
Doucet said the call for the clean-up came from residents living in urban neighbourhoods who have complained to many councillors, including himself, about the graffiti.
However, city staff will not remove graffiti that they feel is artistic. The graffiti will be judged on an individual basis to determine whether or not it is considered art.
The graffiti removal is effective immediately and will run for the rest of the year.
“It’s a really good step
towards eradication of graffiti,” Philpotts said.