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Let's not confuse tagging with graffiti.
Also, does the city have some by-law to fine the companies that are on the posters? If Guvernment has many posters all over the city, can't they just send them the cleaning bill?
 
"WRT graffiti, often (but unfortunately not always), historic buildings are left untouched as an unwritten rule and the ugly buildings gets sprayed (but again there are too many punks who don't get it)."


Have you seen the roof lines, doorways, walls, and other parts of most of the historic commercial building stock along Spadina, Queen, Bloor, Yonge, College, etc. recently? Pretty much every one of them is covered in tags to the point where I'm not sure many of those buildings are salvageable given their age and fragility. It's illegal vandalism that is slowly destroying a lot of the historic commercial building stock in this city, and I find it's the newer buildings that are maintained more vigilantly against this kind of thing. It's not that they don't "get it", it's that they're assholes who don't give a shit about anyone other than themselves. *They're* the enemy of heritage preservation to say nothing of the public realm as a whole, so tolerating it is not - architecturally speaking - shooting yourself in the foot, it's shooting yourself in the mouth.

As for postering, the vast, *vast* majority of postering is of the large-scale, Guvernment nightclub and Booty Camp variety, and *not* the mythical struggling young band variety. And it is for this reason why, thankfully, it is finally beginning to be addressed.

I really don't know where your perceptions arise from as they have no relation to reality whatsoever.

My perception is based on witnessing postering taking place by young alternative type kids, both guys and girls often riding old bikes. However I once noticed a van with 3 guys working late at night that looked like a serious operation and it kind of made me twitch. I have no stats.

I detest seeing historic buildings sullied by graffiti but Ford's fight on graffiti proves that making enemies is counter-productive. It only ups the ante. By making enemies the problem only gets worse - perhaps by making friends a better code of conduct among graffiti artists could be established? Maybe that's just too idealistic but it's really all we've got.
The other side of it is that, when it's done with consideration for the 'canvas', there is a lot of great graffiti out there that I believe enhances the city, artistically, culturally, and politically.

Let's not confuse tagging with graffiti.

True, taggers are often egomaniacle try-hards with no clue.
 
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I like it too, things like that which I consider to be fun or clever but that almost borders on being defaced by covering up part of the word "neighbourhood" - not that it's right or that the next person would like it. Just as I like myself some graffiti (not tagging) in appropriate spaces like laneways, construction hoarding, commissioned pieces & such.

I love things like this:
protected-community.jpg
 
Do these pole wraps work? Surprisingly, they seem to be working quite well on Bloor.

I was walking home from Honest Ed's, along Bloor, heading east and I was quite surprised to see how much cleaner and nicer everything was, compared to a year ago. The poles are now covered with an attractive green wrap and not a single pole had a poster, bits of paper, glue or dirt on it. Even more surprising, I only saw one single pole with a tag on it. Even some of the street furniture that was completely covered with paper and dirt last year, is now almost free of that crap. The BIA seems to be winning the battle, so clearly it can be done. When I was out there taking pictures of the postering problem, just over a year ago, everything was covered with postering crap and tags everywhere. I'm pleasantly surprised to see this change. It really looks and feels so much nicer now. Even the buildings look a lot cleaner and better maintained.
 
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That's good to hear about Bloor St. W. in the Annex, there and Queen West have always been so much worse than other areas. I'd love rainbow covered pole wraps in my neighbourhood!
 
That's good to hear about Bloor St. W. in the Annex, there and Queen West have always been so much worse than other areas. I'd love rainbow covered pole wraps in my neighbourhood!

Oh wow a rainbow of them is a really good idea! Have each pole a different colour to form a rainbow along the street....awesome!
 

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