Freeway walls become a graffiti nightmare
By Nancy Needham nancy@theacorn.com

Graffiti vandals seem to think the new sound walls installed on the 23 Freeway are big blank canvases just begging to be filled.

Their efforts to oblige are rewarded: Graffiti often remains on the sound walls for days. Caltrans' policy is to remove obscene or dangerous graffiti immediately, while anything else may stay up for over a week, Caltrans spokesperson Jeanne Bonfilio said.

"Dangerous" graffiti is described as graffiti that blocks signs, she said.

"Safety comes first. Our crews go out and fill potholes and fix guardrails before they clean up litter or graffiti," said Bonfilio.

Caltrans workers risk their lives every day, she pointed out, taking graffiti down from hazardous places that are risky to access, such as bridges and overpasses. Caltrans also spends millions of dollars each year on graffiti removal, she said.

"We all don't want to see graffiti or litter- it's a constant battle," Bonfilio said.

"Any surface that presents itself predominately is a target," said Vincent Moreno, Caltrans maintenance area manager.

Examples of such surfaces are sound walls, bridges, signs- and anything monolithic, he said.

"It's so pervasive. We need all the help we can get," Moreno said.

Volunteers and cities are encouraged to sign up for permits allowing them access to Caltrans' right-of-way areas to remove graffiti and litter, plant trees and flowers or control vegetation. This program, called AdoptAHighway, has been around since 1989.

Still, there are places too dangerous for untrained workers to help out. Such places include sound walls facing freeway traffic where there is no shoulder, as is the case on the 23 Freeway. In such locations, traffic must be stopped and the work done only by trained Caltrans crews, Moreno said.

Keith Millhouse, a Ventura County traffic commissioner and Moorpark City Council member, travels the 23 Freeway on his way to work from his home in Moorpark to his job in Thousand Oaks.

"The outbreak in tagging on the 23 Freeway is of great concern and, in my opinion, that complete disrespect for other people's property won't be tolerated," he said.

Anyone interested in adopting a section of the freeway can call Steve Mellinger at the Caltrans maintenance department at (213) 897-4273.

City officials suggest those who have questions about graffiti removal or widening improvements on the 23 Freeway contact Caltrans representative Yessica Jovel by telephone at (213) 897-1876 or by e-mail at yessica_joval@dot.ca.gov.