Dear Editor,

Several weeks ago, I saw a sign stating that the township was planning on cleaning up the Graffiti from the publicly accessible Lakeridge Spring.

Cleaning up graffiti is all well and good, as graffiti would not be graffiti if it was allowed in the first place. However, there is an irony to this action as none of the graffiti was profane or particularly artistic in any way. The graffiti in question simply stated “No Trash,” and another sprayed at a separate time read “No Garbage Please!” Truly Canadian Graffiti, if ever there was any.

The simple graffiti seems to have been fairly effective. When the handwritten signs were in place, the litter was curbed, presumably as it showed fellow spring users were desirous of keeping the area of the spring a clean experience and didn’t tolerate litter. Another sign of the effectiveness of the “hand sprayed signs” was the unfortunate fact that the day after the graffiti was removed, litter; in the form of soda cups and cigarette and gum packets; had already begun to accumulate.

I hope the township realizes two things from this experience: 1) Some signage or ads and placement are effective, and 2) Community involvement is more effective.

It’s my second hope that the township will end up respecting the intent of the initial graffiti and post a new sign stating “No Litter please, let’s keep our community clean.” adding “By request of the community.”

James J. Green,

Little Britain

#lettertotheeditor