By CAMERON LUCADOU-WELLS
GRAFFITI has been wiped from more than 14,000 sites on Greater Dandenong private property since a council-wide blitz was announced four months ago.
The $180,000 one-off operation, funded by the council, has erased large and small tags on more than 14,000 square metres of private property, including shopping centres, home fences and garages.
Council community services director Mark Doubleday said the most prevalent clean-up sites were in Dandenong CBD (1793 sites), Springvale CBD (1258) and Noble Park CBD (1203).
Since May, council contractors have attended 9604 clean-up sites in streets, laneways, collector roads and arterial roads, and 232 sites at minor shopping centres. In total, 14,140 sites have been cleaned.
The blitz ends at the end of this month but the anti-graffiti campaign continues with a community clean-up day in Hemmings Park next March.
Last week, south-eastern metropolitan region MP Gordon Rich-Phillips announced a $13,226 state grant to support the community event in which graffiti would be removed from the park’s fences, footpaths, signs, playground, buildings and surrounding laneways.
There will also be graffiti-removal demos and tips to prevent graffiti, with kids activities and a barbecue lunch.
“Graffiti removal kits and paint vouchers will be handed out to encourage the community to continue their good work,” Mr Doubleday said.
Mr Rich-Phillips said the council’s ratepayers footed a $200,000 graffiti removal bill from council assets last financial year.
“Unsightly and illegal graffiti has a significant impact on the local streetscape, costs ratepayers money for its removal and affects how safe people feel in their own neighbourhood,” Mr Rich-Phillips said.
“Graffiti is one of the most visible and senseless crimes committed in our community.”
