A pair of Toronto’s downtown Business Improvement Areas (BIAs) — one in the east and another in the west — haven’t been impressed with the city’s handling of graffiti.
Karen Guca, chair of the Bloor By the Park BIA, acknowledged tagging has become one of the biggest issues in their neighbourhood since the COVID-19 pandemic.
Overseeing roughly 115 businesses, the group spends between 10 to 12 per cent of its annual budget on spray paint removal. The BIA has hired a third party to remove the graffiti from storefronts, murals and residences on a weekly basis.
City-owned assets like parking machines, bike racks and sidewalks — which are not the BIA’s responsibility to clean — are often left tagged for months at a time, according to Guca.
She argued the graffiti problem has gotten out of control as the city hasn’t stayed on top of cleaning up its own infrastructure quickly enough.
“We’ve had tags on the parking meters, so we’d call the city and then wait five or six months for them to clean it,” Guca said. “It gives the impression that the areas are neglected, and it could deter foot traffic which is critical for our businesses.”
“The faster it’s removed, the less [the vandals] do it,” she added. “We try our best and report it to the city, but we can’t spend the extra money cleaning their assets — our tax money is supposed to cover that.”
According to the City of Toronto’s Graffiti Management Plan, property owners are responsible for removing graffiti vandalism themselves.
The plan contains four strategic elements:
- Establishing a coordinating body for graffiti management activities.
- Supporting and recognizing permitted graffiti and street art, including investment in programming that encourages the development of local artistic talent.
- Supporting victims of graffiti vandalism.
- Ongoing enforcement against illegal tagging.
But Guca told TorontoToday her BIA hasn’t received any information on a city-run graffiti plan in many years.
She’s attempted to work with city officials to establish a regular cleaning schedule for a wall near the UP Bloor Station that has been the target of many vandal acts over the years, but a routine in that area has yet to be created.
“They should have a division that cleans all the time — weekly,” she said. “I don’t know if they have any budget for it, or if it's just not a priority for them. I just don’t know what their plan is, it’s not very transparent.”
Over in Cabbagetown, BIA executive director Matthew Mohan is also fed up with the city’s poor response time and claimed its mentality towards the issue has exposed a double standard.
“Considering the city has been really cracking down on businesses and property owners who have graffiti on their storefronts, it’s a shame they’re not working to clean up their own assets,” he said.
Approximately $10,000 — or nearly two per cent of Cabbagetown’s annual BIA budget — is put towards graffiti removal each year. Within that budget, business owners can take advantage of free graffiti removal kits.
Smaller tags that can be easily wiped away are dealt with regularly, while larger pieces of graffiti that are more challenging to remove are usually tackled twice a year, according to Mohan.
“Very often, we have to clean things ourselves,” he said. “The city should be investing more money into keeping their city clean, which includes keeping the city graffiti free. It would be nice if we could put that money into florals, marketing or social media for small businesses.”
The city has urged residents to call 911 if they witness graffiti in progress. If you see graffiti on city or private property, call 311 or submit a report online.
