23 Freeway sound walls become a showcase for graffiti
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 more than a week, Caltrans spokesperson Jeanne Bonfilio said.

"Dangerous" graffiti is described as graffiti that blocks road 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 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 Adopt-A-Highway, 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.

Councilmember Jacqui Irwin said the city is allowed by Caltrans to remove graffiti only from the on- and off-ramps.

"We're not allowed to remove it from the freeway or the freeway construction," Irwin said.

The lingering sound wall graffiti has bothered many residents, she said.

"Residents of Thousand Oaks have come to expect higher standards than that," Irwin said. "We've had a number of complaints from residents about it."

Usually, the city of Thousand Oaks makes it clear to vandals that painting graffiti is an illegal waste of time.

Residents are fast to report it, and city workers respond immediately by going out and painting over it. Usually graffiti will stay visible in Thousand Oaks for only about 24 hours.

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 or concerns 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.