Saanich residents wage war on graffiti

Mykel Furgason, from Pacific Coast Power Washing, uses a pressure washer to remove graffiti from the Seaton underpass.

image credit: Nate Clark/News intern

Nefarious deeds take place behind overgrown brush between homes and the Seaton Street pedestrian underpass.

Its an area where used needles and other trash are found. All the concrete, rocks and light fixtures in the tunnel that runs underneath the Trans-Canada Highway are splashed in paint, marker and even white out graffiti.

There are things (drawn) at eye level that kids shouldnt be seeing or reading, says Saanich police Const. Mark Pamminger. Some tags are absurd, others obscene.

Pamminger, the police departments graffiti co-ordinator and a bike section member, is happy all the vandalism will be gone this week. Saanich crews and a contractor power-washed the marked up surfaces last week, and are expected to finish painting over everything this afternoon (April 16).

Some see graffiti as art (but) its vandalism when its not consensual. Its not their property, Pamminger says. As artists they want to be seen. If you paint over it, why would they come back? The faster you remove graffiti the less they will return.

He cites personal anecdotal evidence in another area of Saanich where a business on the Galloping Goose Regional Trail took personal pride in their concrete wall. It was tagged five times, and every time the business owner quickly painted over the damage. The amount of graffiti in that area has dropped.

The quick removal plan is in place for Seaton, thanks to regular patrols by Saanich police officers and municipal staff.

The police alone cant deal with this, Pamminger says. Its a collaborative approach. Police are just facilitating the movement. Its a community issue.

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Saanich residents wage war on graffiti