Email from Andrew Dick regarding vandalism hot spots

From: Andrew Dick
Sent: Wednesday, September 10, 2025 11:56:22 AM
To: Sid Tobias mayortobias@viewroyal.ca
Subject: Inquiry from local Artist regarding vandalism hot spots.

Greetings Mayor Tobias,

My name is Andrew Dick. I’m a long time resident of View Royal, however I’ve also lived abroad in Japan and Germany for art related work and studies.

I’m writing to you as I have been assisting with our bordering municipality of Esquimalt with ideas and tips to help combat the growing vandalism issue that’s spreading across different regions in the CRD.

I have written to the bylaw enforcement of which the View Royal website recommends for reporting vandalism in early august, but have yet to receive reply.

I first contacted Mayor Desjardins in August and was in correspondence via email with her and her assistant almost immediately, as she has taken a strong stance on combating the growing vandalism issue in Esquimalt.

I have noticed a few places in View Royal that need vandalism cleaned as soon as possible. For the reason, the longer the vandalism remains in an area the more likely it’s to accumulate and spread around it. Prompt removal gives a signal to the vandals that there is no tolerance for that behaviour.

I happen to have expertise in this subject and have worked with police programs in the past and currently I’m trying to assist in the battle against graffiti in Victoria.

One spot in our community that needs to be addressed is The Four Mile train trestle which is black on the exterior. It Currently has a number of white spray painted markings spanning the distance of the structure, it has not been cleaned for months. Since late June or early July I believe. Also the inside of the bridge is covered in graffiti and it has not been cleaned in several years, which is unfortunate because it’s very visible to cyclists and all who enjoy walking or jogging on the galloping goose trail. There is some effort to clean certain surfaces in View Royal but it has not been consistent in others.

I had included specific map locations and images of the graffiti that should be cleaned when I wrote to the bylaw enforcement department as I mentioned I was not contacted and it remains uncleaned still.

I realize this might not be of the highest importance for View Royal, but I believe it doesn’t look good and reflects poorly on our beautiful community.

It’s understandable that it could be complicated perhaps re painting the Four Mile train trestle on the exterior as the nature of the constant flow of traffic below, but I think it’s important as it’s something you see when you enter View Royal on the old island highway.

The challenge would be to have municipal workers responsible for the removal and repainting of such spots to be able to keep up to cleaning it as this is the ultimate deterrent to the vandals. If they see their marks do not last, further desire to mark the spot again will eventually fade, this has been proven in studies.

There is not a lot in our community compared to others, but for the hot spots that exist it would be nice to have the marks gone and to keep up on it so it’s understood by the vandals that there is no tolerance for it in our community.

One more spot which would be a larger undertaking and not such a priority, but would further send a message that an era of tolerance for graffiti is over would be to eliminate the graffiti in the larger train trestle where the old Island highway connects with the main highway. This has been completely covered on the inside for decades, and it is constantly being painting and accumulating garbage because of this. It’s out of the public eye to the exception of people walking across it, but it seems to be a safe haven for vandals to hide and do work in broad daylight, I have personally witnessed this when walking the span of the bridge.

As in the case of assisting Esquimalt, I’ve asked to stay in the background and remain anonymous because I know that some of these vandals are associated with gangs and there is a potential to be targeted with violence regarding a citizen standing up against an aiding in the elimination of their markings.

In the future, perhaps later this year or early next year I plan on making a proposal for a piece of public art in a modest location in View Royal, a small sculpture, made of Yellow or Red cedar and including some stone that’s native to our island.

Thank you very much for reading my message, it means a lot.
I hope to hear from you soon, and I’m happy to answer any questions you may have.

Best Regards,

Andrew Dick