Graffiti upsurge: 40% of downtown properties tagged this year

The recent vandalizing of a 110-year-old cast-iron bell in front of Sault Ste. Marie Museum is only the tip of the iceberg as downtown experiences a rash of graffiti activity this year.

As SooToday's Alex Flood has reported, the historic 810-pound artifact has been tagged twice in recent weeks.

But a block-by-block graffiti audit conducted by the Downtown Association found 143 tags have been placed on the premises of 54 association members so far in 2023.

"That's 40 per cent of the entire membership with at least one tag, as well as on public and Crown property within our membership," says Nicholas Luck, executive director.

Thirty-four of the tags were on municipally owned property.

"This year we have seen a very noticeable uptick in graffiti and tagging downtown," Luck told his association's July meeting.

"The next steps are to determine the resources needed to remove the tags, forming a beautification task force to initiate a removal operation either internally or in partnership with city departments, creating a budget for the operation and an advisory team to come up with a plan with possible creative solutions to reduce tagging in downtown."

The Downtown Association is also looking into ways to address reported problems with dog feces in the city's core, and worsening accumulation of debris in back alleyways and private parking lots.