The Acton BIA and several volunteers will be out in full force on Saturday (April 13) to clean up graffiti around town.
They are targeting 16 major locations, with landmark properties like the Roxy Centre, The Hide House and Acton Town Milk on the to-do list.
“It (graffiti) really does make the town look rundown,” BIA coordinator Matthew Galliford said. “It makes it look unwelcoming, especially at night. You don’t feel comfortable being on the streets.”
Volunteers from the downtown Acton business community, town council, Halton Regional Police and the average citizen will all take part.
Galliford says, in his experience, that Acton traditionally has not been as big a target for vandals as other communities. Some isolated incidents were reported in the past, but nothing compared to 2024 when tagging was particularly prominent.
“We ended up with this little epidemic that happened earlier this year where in a matter of four days, entire alleyways were painted overnight,” Galliford said.
He recalls one of the walls of the Dollar Stretcher Daze shop went from having a few small tags to “being almost covered in a matter of two nights.”
“Halton Police are currently investigating 16 affected properties throughout Acton that have multiple graffiti. These include both private and public properties in the Acton downtown core,” Const. Torrance Wentzell said in an emailed statement.
He further added that police are “making efforts to identify the suspect(s) while working closely with community stakeholders such as the Acton BIA and town council to coordinate a community cleanup with volunteers.”
Incidents like this prompted council to declare war on graffiti in January 2023, in collaboration with local BIAs and Halton Police. Almost exactly a year ago to the day, Town staff released an action plan. A public education campaign – in which residents are taught what is and isn’t public art – and engagement with the private sector are part of the plan.
The BIA has plenty of volunteers for this weekend’s clean up, but would welcome more. Those interested in taking part are asked to meet at the Acton Town Hall Centre at 9 a.m. on Saturday. Volunteers must be 18 years of age or older due to the use of chemicals.
Galliford also notes that the April 13 clean up may get postponed to April 20 if inclement weather makes it too unsafe.