Volunteers carried down buckets of paint and rollers underneath the Soledad Canyon Road overpass, near the intersection of Camp Plenty Road and Soledad Canyon Road on Saturday morning for Santa Clarita Valley’s third annual Graffiti Removal Day.
The event was led by the city’s Graffiti Removal Team who, in 2023, cleared more than 13,000 tags and completed around 200 beautification projects.
Maria Huerta, who works for the Community Preservation division as an administrative analyst, said she felt it was crucial for people to understand the team’s significance in the community.
“I think it’s important for the community to build that relationship with the graffiti team, and essentially see the importance of beautifying the community and taking part in an event that will ultimately take huge effect for the community as a whole,” Huerta said.
The Soledad Canyon Road overpass is one of a handful of locations that is usually targeted by taggers, according to the city’s Community Preservation Manager, Tracy Sullivan.
According to Sullivan, graffiti has been an issue in Santa Clarita.
“It’s extremely prevalent,” Sullivan said. “This location is significant because it is commonly tagged by graffiti vandals, and you’ll find that there’s a lot of mismatched paint due to years of covering it up.”
Sullivan also said that the graffiti removal team works proactively, closely monitoring the streets and removing graffiti whenever they see it.
“The team does an amazing job of removing it,” Sullivan said. “We pride ourselves in a removal rate of 99% within 24 hours of it being reported by the community.”
Volunteer Tom Aduwo said he came to the event with his stepson, both for moral support and out of curiosity. Aduwo said that he was glad to help out, even gaining exercise.
“I love it. Got my workout in too,” said Aduwo, while holding up a large paint roller.
Sullivan said that it’s because of community efforts that the team has been able to keep up with the reported graffiti, and that about 40 to 50 volunteers had shown up for the day.
“We have a very generous community, especially these people out here today,” Sullivan said. “It’s hot and they’re working really hard and are really dedicated. I’m extremely grateful for them.”
Huerta said that the team is planning to hold the event again next year, and that interested volunteers should keep an eye out for the opportunity.
Information about more volunteer opportunities can be found on santaclaritavolunteers.com.
