TOLEDO, OH (Toledo News Now) - The City of Toledo has rolled out its new graffiti removal unit, aimed at scouring the city and eliminating graffiti in public areas.
Workers with the Neighborhood Beautification Action team are using some new techniques to wipe away graffiti.
"It really can make your city look like it's not being kept up as well as it needs to be. What we're doing is moving forward on an issue that's important to our community," says Mayor Mike Bell.
Previously the city relied on sandblasting and painting over graffiti, but now crews are using environmentally friendly biodegradable chemicals to remove unwanted urban art.
"It's vandalism, so we started this initiative to help abate and remove some of the blight from the City of Toledo," says NBA Manager Rick Akeman.
While private property owners are given 72-hour notice to remove graffiti, the mobile city crew will be going around and looking to clean up on the spot in public areas.
"One of the popular spots kids have a tendency to mark up or tag is traffic signal boxes on the corners" said Akeman.
Last year the city crews abated 450 cases of graffiti, and this year the city is hoping people will help identify problem spots by calling the city hotline at 419-936-2020.
"No need to be afraid to call. It's all secret. You let us know where it's at and we'll get out there" said Akeman.
