Texas Transit Association

The program includes no new money for graffiti abatement, but it does attempt to coordinate the efforts of the city, the county, City Public Service, the San Antonio Water System, the Texas Department of Transportation and others in ways that haven’t been tried before.

Area leaders have graffiti covered
By William Pack San Antonio Express-News 12/03/2003

The battle against graffiti in San Antonio is getting a higher profile and considerably more coordination.

Several city, county, transportation and public utility officials came together this week to kick off the new program called Graffiti Wipeout by manning paintbrushes themselves to cover graffiti left on the Elmendorf Lake Dam.

“Graffiti is an eyesore that decreases property values, depletes tax dollars and makes residents feel unsafe,” said Mayor Ed Garza, who was one of the officials on the painting line at Elmendorf.

“Working together, with the help of our residents, we can make a difference and reduce this problem.”

The program includes no new money for graffiti abatement, but it does attempt to coordinate the efforts of the city, the county, City Public Service, the San Antonio Water System, the Texas Department of Transportation and others in ways that haven’t been tried before.

“I think that’s the key,” City Manager Terry Brechtel said. “We never had a coordinated effort where everyone is participating.”

Under the plan, VIA Metropolitan Transit has agreed to place placards inside 550 buses urging riders to fight back against the graffiti problem by reporting incidents to the city.

Keep San Antonio Beautiful is available with volunteers to help organizations paint over graffiti, and City Public Service and the San Antonio Water System have made commitments to quickly eradicate graffiti on their property.

In addition, a Web site (www.sanantonio.gov/graffiti) has been created to let residents know more about the problem and what they can do to combat it.

Brochures also will be available in English and Spanish that summarize what is being done to eliminate graffiti and urge residents to get involved.

“They have to be part of it,” Garza said of community involvement. “We can’t fight it alone.”

Part of the new recommendations are directions to call emergency 911 dispatchers if someone sees graffiti artists in the act of painting on property.

The city’s information line at 311 is the place to call to report graffiti that has been completed and needs to be removed.

San Antonio Police Officers Association President Rene Rodriguez said he was concerned about a policy that encourages the public to use the 911 system for non-life-threatening offenses.

He said calls on graffiti could overburden the 911 system and make it more difficult for police to respond to true emergencies.

Steven Schauer, a spokesman for the mayor, said officials don’t believe the new focus on graffiti will overburden the 911 system, but if it does, adjustments will be made.

The 911 system already is used to dispatch officers on crimes that are in progress, and graffiti is a crime under both state and city law, Schauer said.

He said the problem should shrink if more offenders are caught in the act.