MOUNTLAKE TERRACE — People who use the Interurban Trail will notice something different as the path dips beneath 220th Street SW.
Graffiti messages on more than 300 feet of walls and underpass are gone.
A group of more than 80 volunteers led by the Snohomish County executive’s office painted over the graffiti Saturday morning. Using brushes and rollers, the volunteers finished the project in less than three hours.
“When they got on site, it looked like an ominous task,” said Snohomish County Executive Officer Aaron Reardon, who worked with the volunteers. “As they put brush to paint and put it on the wall, they moved very quickly, and there was a tremendous sense of satisfaction.”
The event, called Graffiti Paint-Out Day, was a community effort, Reardon said.
People came from Mukilteo, Marysville, Snohomish, Everett and Mountlake Terrace to clean the trail. Boy Scouts, Rotary Club members, law enforcement officials and off-duty firefighters pitched in.
Meanwhile, Rodda Paint Co. donated 125 gallons of paint, of which more than 100 gallons were used. Home Depot gave event organizers a discount on supplies such as tarps and bags, and Lynnwood Honda paid for the supplies. Starbucks and TOP Food &Drugs provided coffee and food for the volunteers. The Snohomish County Association of Realtors also chipped in with funding, Reardon said.
Before Saturday, graffiti covered the wall along the Interurban Trail south of 220th Street SW. It was so bad that some people were afraid to walk the trail, Reardon said.
“If graffiti is left to stand on a wall or on a public space, it attracts more graffiti, debris and garbage, and it attracts criminal activity,” Reardon said. “It sends a message to the community at large that this neighborhood is not safe.”
Edmonds City Councilman David Orvis was among the volunteers who painted over graffiti. He brought his 11-year-old son to the event.
“Everyone worked hard, and we got it done really quick. And it looks a lot better now,” Orvis said. “It was good to get rid of all of that stuff.”
Not everyone was happy to see the graffiti gone.
As the paint dried over the taggings, Bonya Wakubov and Wyatt Carstens, both 13, said they already missed looking at all the colorful tagging.
Carstens enjoyed the graffiti so much that he actually saved pictures of the vandalized walls on his cell phone.
“In a few months, everything will be back on it,” Carstens said.
Reardon said he wants to make Graffiti Paint-Out Day a regular event in Snohomish County.
“There’s something to be said about restoring community pride, and taking back a public space,” he said.
Reporter Scott Pesznecker: 425-339-3436 or spesznecker@heraldnet.com.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
