PORTLAND, Ore. — Portlanders and travelers just passing through can expect to see more graffiti building up along the city's major arteries. That's because the state has exhausted funding set aside two years ago in order to tackle the problem.
While Portland has its own graffiti abatement program, the Oregon Department of Transportation would typically be responsible for graffiti removal along state rights of way, including major corridors like I-5 and I-405.
As graffiti built up throughout Portland during the pandemic, the Oregon Legislature authorized a one-time allocation of $1 million in the 2021-2023 biennium for ODOT to address the graffiti problem in partnership with the city. In early 2022, ODOT actually put $2 million toward contractors tasked with removing graffiti.
With that extra funding, the contractors were able to be fairly vigilant in removing graffiti along the highways. But that ended June 30.
"As of July 1, we no longer have funds dedicated to tackling graffiti," said ODOT spokesman David House. "People in the Portland area will see more graffiti."
Even with the additional funding, House noted that vandals have continued to tag sound walls, signs and structures over the last several years — sometimes immediately after tags are removed.
Now any funds that ODOT has to do graffiti removal are part and parcel of the agency's maintenance funds, which they need for sealing cracks in pavement, repainting lines and repairing lighting.
"We have to focus our efforts on keeping regulatory features — like signs and paint — in working order," House said. "With limited budgets and resources, we must prioritize safety-critical activities.”
Within the city, Portland keeps plugging away at the never-ending task of removing graffiti. In May, contractors worked to clean up the historic 12-story Jackson Tower overlooking Pioneer Square. During a "90-day reset" in the Central Eastside district this year, the city reported removing 73,755 total square feet of graffiti.
But graffiti removal on ODOT rights of way is unlikely to happen at any scale without additional state funding. A similar story unfolded earlier this year when the city of Portland ran out of state funds to remove homeless camps on ODOT property. Portland burned through the $2 million in funding for the last fiscal year that was supposed to see them through the end of June. Instead, it was gone by February.
Camp removals on ODOT property only resumed once Gov. Tina Kotek approved a $600,000 bailout to tide the city over into the next fiscal year. Right now there's no indication that ODOT will get a similar bailout for graffiti removal, since the 2021 infusion was intended as a one-time boost.
House told KGW that you can still submit concerns and complaints about graffiti on ODOT-managed roads under the Ask ODOT form online. Click here to access that page.