Edmonton resident Herman Hum covers a lot of ground—whether he’s walking the trails from Mill Woods to downtown, visiting West Edmonton Mall or trekking to the outskirts of the city.
A few years ago, Herman started reporting the graffiti he sees to 311 after he noticed a steep increase in tags. His email history of 311 requests helps him keep track of his reports and he currently has more than 500 on record with graffiti spotted on fences, traffic control boxes, bridges and more.
“I’m not willing to tolerate it, so I report every instance I have and follow-up on mine,” he says. “… It’s got to come down. You’ve got to make [graffiti taggers] think that it’s not worth their time.”
Last year, the City’s Graffiti Abatement team experienced a significant spike in 311 notifications related to graffiti, with a total of 3,398 received in 2023 compared to 1,467 in 2022. The trend is continuing in 2024 with 2,303 graffiti notifications received as of June 30, or a 66 per cent increase from the same period in 2023.
Notifying 311 is the best way to report graffiti throughout the city, as instances are entered into a central database for crews to access them and act as quickly as possible.
As soon as reports of graffiti (like Herman’s) are received by 311, the Parks and Roads Services (PARS) Graffiti Abatement team reviews the cases and prioritizes them depending on the location and subject matter of the tags.
“There are tags we want to address as soon as possible because the content is pretty sensitive and graphic at times. We want to ensure Edmontonians feel safe and welcome throughout the city,” says Didier Hutchison, Supervisor of the Auxiliary Structures Program, which includes the Graffiti Abatement Program.
“Sometimes it’s in a school playground, so we would rather do it quickly before children come out and play.”
In addition to 311 notifications, the team also receives alerts from various areas such as Traffic Operations and other City departments.
Once the Graffiti Abatement team gets the go-ahead on a job, they arrive on the scene with everything they need – such as cleaning products, palm sanders, pressure washers, sandblasters, scrapers, pre-packaged graffiti wipes and paint—to get the job done as quickly as possible.
However, the team’s responses may require additional time to complete if advanced planning is needed to take account of any nearby road closures or if specialized equipment is needed to safely complete the job. To keep track of graffiti locations addressed, the team takes before and after photos, uploads them to an internal app and labels them with a date to make it easier to search for later.
The team removes graffiti from any road right-of-way, playground or City park and sometimes they’ll assist other departments across the City if eligible.
Private businesses and homeowners are responsible for removing graffiti from their own structures, and Capital City Clean Up provides a $750 grant to alleviate the costs for eligible owners of private property. Capital City Clean Up also notifies owners of existing graffiti and contracts work to remove tags from EPCOR properties.
“We have limited capacity to proactively look for tags,” says Chrystal Coleman, Graffiti Program lead for Capital City Clean Up. “We rely on reports from people like Herman in order to keep track of graffiti. They are our eyes.”
The City also offers Community Mural Grants, to a maximum of $8,000, to organizations, businesses and community leagues to install artistic murals on buildings and infrastructure in areas of the community where graffiti may be a problem. Since 2011, the Community Mural Grant has funded more than 70 murals around Edmonton that showcase artwork and artists from diverse genres and backgrounds. The installation of murals around Edmonton can deter graffiti, transform community spaces and encourage community engagement.
Due to the increasing number of graffiti tags, the Graffiti Abatement team has 14 members. By the end of June 2023, the team had addressed 1,771 locations; this year, they have already addressed 2,711 individual graffiti locations—a 53 per cent increase—with 1,039 being in downtown Edmonton.
The City has a new pilot initiative focused on beautifying its downtown. Inspectors with the Centre City Pilot project team conduct proactive inspections, and the graffiti team is notified directly of any tags, allowing for a quicker response in the downtown area.
There are popular spots for vandals that the Graffiti Abatement team has returned to on multiple occasions. But Hutchison says the team is resilient and remains dedicated to making Edmontonians feel safe and welcome throughout the city.
Herman, too, remains dedicated to reporting the graffiti he sees on his walks. He says the team’s work makes a difference.
“If it’s cleaned quickly and there’s a good response, I always try to recognize a good effort and good work with a quick commendation,” says Herman. “I want them to know the work they do is noticeable. It’s seen and it’s recognized.”
Editor’s note: the pic at the top of the post shows a crew member in front of a wall after covering up a graffiti tag in June 2024.