Opinion: What I Think
Vandals are tagging everywhere you look: on telephone poles, mailboxes, utility boxes at Beaumont Middle School, sides of buildings, and on curbs, windows, and fences. The word PARLE was etched into a glass window at Pizzicato, resulting in the expense of repairing this senseless damage; the same word has been painted on the walls of businesses and retaining walls in the neighborhood. This type of vandalism affects the livability of our Beaumont-Wilshire neighborhood. (See our mission statement on page 1 of each BWNA newsletter.) We all know the Portland police are not enforcing the law prohibiting tagging (graffiti) on private and public property, so it falls on ALL neighbors to help STOP tagging.
Some neighbors seem to be apathetic, but you might feel differently when your fence or garage door is spray-painted with offensive graffiti. Sadly, the reality is we must clean up the destruction ourselves. Someone knows who PARLE is and is enabling the ongoing destruction. As reluctant as I am to give more notoriety to this vandal, he/she/they must be stopped! Thank you.
Diane Charlton is a longtime resident of Beaumont-Wilshire; she and her husband were once the editors of this newsletter. Diane also served as a BWNA board member, newsletter delivery captain, and route carrier.
Professional Tips for Preventing Graffiti
The following suggestions come from city planners, landscape designers, and law enforcement officials.
- Plant fast-growing, low-maintenance bushes or trees along the sides of buildings. For example, Rosa Rugosa helps protect buildings and doesn’t need much attention once it is planted.
- Install lattice-work trellises on the side of your building and plant fast-growing vines beneath them to create a wall of leaves.
- Improve outside lighting.
- Commission a local artist to paint a mural on your building.
To report graffiti or other types of defacement to private or public property, call 311 or go to portland.gov/311/graffiti-report.