City West Link graffiti cleanup

I wrote to the RTA again on 17 June to let them know that they had only cleaned the "front half" of the City West Link, and had left the back half out.

I went past the "back half" again late last week and found that the RTA had done a great job on cleaning most of it up.

This section of wall for instance was completely cleaned, but it only took a day or two before someone tagged it.  This section of noise barrier is an excellent example of how plants can be used as a defense against graffiti.

Even the signage around this area has been badly defaced.

It appears that the RTA have fitted some new "ladders" for creepers to grow on, thus adding to the defensive covering of plants.  If you look closely, you can see patches where graffiti has been painted over.

The wall on the left is the noise barrier - it is now in great shape.  It would be nice now if the residents with fences on the right also started cleaning the graffiti off their property.

Note that the RTA also trimmed all the plants through this section, making it much nicer to walk through, and also removing cover that vandals could use to conceal themselves whilst tagging the noise barrier.

An example of fresh tags that have sprung up overnight.

One thing that was missed - a street lighting control box.  This is one of those things where the RTA is responsible for one area, which they clean up, but they then leave this box (I'm not sure which authority is responsibly for this) in a sorry state.  I would hope that the RTA crew that came through here had the sense to report this to whoever owns it - the trick is to clean up all the graffiti in an area, because that makes it clear that it won't be tolerated.  Leaving something like this behind creates a magnet for more graffiti.

The rail bridge still hasn't been cleaned up.  RailCorp are dragging the chain a bit, but I guess re-painting this bridge is a major effort.  The road below might have to be closed to allow scaffolding to be erected, or for a cherry picker to be used safely.

I never said it would be easy.

This shows a section of the pedestrian bridge over the City West Link in Lilyfield.  This area is repainted regularly by the RTA, but it quickly returns to this condition.  The RTA really needs to repaint it more often, or introduce some creepers or other climbing plants.