GRAFFITI repelling art work has been placed in an Albury hotspot to try and prevent vandalism.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Transparent floral vinyls have been placed over the glass panels at the Kenilworth Street footbridge.
Albury MP Greg Aplin said the artwork would discourage tagging because it made it harder to see and easier to remove.
“Graffiti is usually placed on an open area and this art work makes it more difficult for people who love tagging to have their tags readily visible and on the side of the surface with the vinyl artwork, graffiti is more easily removed and that’s very important,” he said.
Albury Council received $57,000 from the NSW government as part of the Graffiti Hotspot program.
The funding also went toward gumnut shaped bumps, which have been placed along the edges of stairs and paths to deter skateboarders.
Albury mayor Kevin Mack said the proactive measures aimed to lower the cost of graffiti clean up, which amounted to $100,000 in taxpayer dollars every year.
“The freeway bridges are hotspots for graffiti in the Albury area so potentially the money that was spent here and on the gumnuts were all put in place to prevent further graffiti; but also to see whether it works,” he said.
“If it does work we will look at further funding for other bridges and walkways along the freeway and any other areas in the city.”
Community members are being encouraged to help combat vandalism in several ways.
Cr Mack said he encouraged people to use the Snap Send Solve smartphone app to report vandalism to the council.
“Research says if you remove graffiti within 48 hours, it deters them from putting it back there, but if you leave it there they will place a tag over the top of it,” Cr Mack said.
“By using the Snap Send Solve app, you can take a photo of the graffiti straight away, tap it into the phone which will give a GPS location and basically the app does everything for you.
“The photo will go directly to the appropriate council, and council will come out and attend to it within 48 hours.”
The council offers a reward of up to $2000 for people who report someone defacing public property leading to a conviction.
