Answer Man: Rail bridge graffiti

Dear Answer Man,

Firstly I want to express my appreciation for the City of Kamloops anti-graffiti squad who have been so very diligent at removing graffiti around the city.  In particular, they have been fantastic at quickly removing the graffiti under and around the west end of the Halston Bridge along the Schubert pathway underneath the bridge.

My question, given the City Bylaw requirements about homeowners facing fines for not removing graffiti on their private property, is why is the railway bridge beside the Halston Bridge allowed to remain covered in graffiti?  Shouldn’t whoever owns the bridge be expected to maintain it graffiti-free as well?

I walked past the rail bridge this morning and while  it appears there has been some long-past historical attempt to cover up graffiti it remains quite prolific and an eyesore.

Perhaps By-laws (the City) could also weigh in on where they stand in the issue.  Perhaps the railway is quite happy to keep paying the fines….. after all, graffiti is an addiction and almost impossible to eliminate.  And while the City does cover up the graffiti on the Halson Bridge, they don’t seem to paint the rail bridge.

Thanks, Answer Man, keep up your great work!

DONNA BUCKLEY

Dear Donna,

The reason the Kamloops Graffiti Task Force hasn’t cleaned up the graffiti on the rail bridge is because it has no jurisdiction. CN Police rule on CN property and City bylaws have no authority there. From time to time the task force board has had representation from railway police, so the railways clearly recognize the problem.

However, Graffiti Task Force executive director Ronnie Bouvier says the task force hasn’t been able to do anything with the bridge because efforts to work with the railway on that particular situation haven’t been successful. “We’ve certainly asked,” she told me.

As the pictures show, the graffiti is especially heavy where the Rivers Trail passes under it.

A CN spokesman told me that since the question has been asked, the railway will look into it. I see that CN has frequently done graffiti cleanups in other places.

Rail infrastructure is to graffiti vandals what honey is to flies. They particularly like rail cars as they provide a travelling canvass for their so-called art.

If you want my opinion, I think the railways need to take more responsibility for keeping their property graffiti-free. I know it’s expensive but when it’s not cleaned up promptly it gets worse and worse.

However, now that CN is officially aware of the tagging on the bridge here, maybe that location, at least, will see some action.

ANSWER MAN

Dear Answer Man,

On Wednesday, July 23, 2014, shortly after the humungous rain storm hit Kamloops, there was a thunderous roar that lasted about five minutes, that seemed to come from the area of the mill on the North Shore.  It was extremely loud and to us sounded like a jet engine at full throttle.  Any ideas?

I can’t remember what the time was, but it was shortly after the heavy rainfall.

We were at our home in the Library Square apartment building.  Our apartment faces west.

The noise was extremely loud and ceased quite suddenly.

Thanks for your efforts.

 BOB SMITH

Dear Bob,

Unfortunately, I have to ask the audience on this one. Nobody I’v e talked to knows the answer. I’m hoping someone out there heard the noise and knows what it was.

Anyone?

ANSWER MAN

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