Big City Cleanup in Progress - Excellent!

I almost feel like I am at work! "Attention all aircraft, men and equipment working alongside the runway. Use caution while taxiing."

This morning the air was filled with the sound of power washers, leaf vacs, weed trimmers, and men, women, and equipment working on cleaning up the Third Street Tunnel pathway. There were so many City trucks on St. Augustine that one could hardly squeeze by.

I took a walk and found all the new graffiti, as seen in my last post and some from the past, had been removed, all the bushes neatly trimmed, the freeway culvert graffiti painted over...holy smokes Ollie! It almost looks like the City is preparing for a big get-together or something. You think?

It looks like the beautification issues are well in hand..kudos to the City. This is an excellent example of Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED). Now all we need to do is get our arms around the bigger issues of prevention.

Fellow Benicians, tonight is your night to put forth your ideas and hear those of our City leaders.

To the City of Benicia, thank you for excellent response.

What is the strategy? Meeting tonight - please attend

Dear Fellow Neighbor:

I hope that you will attend the meeting with the City this evening, 7/21/08, at 6pm, at the corner of East 3rd and St. Augustine.


Like you, my time is precious and I don’t like wasting it. I don’t think we want to listen to the City tell us that “Everything is under control” or “We are doing the best we can”. If this were the case, we would'nt be having this meeting. I think we want to hear about a real strategy and how it is being implemented. If you share this viewpoint, let’s actively seek the answers that we deserve.


• What is the police department's and the City's specific strategy to alleviate these problems?


• How much graffiti does the City abate annually? What is the cost to the City?

• California State Law prohibits sale of spray paint to minors. Has the City recently reminded Benicia retailers of existing statutes?

• How many vandalism arrests has Benicia PD made? How many were prosecuted and convicted?

• When was the last graffiti- implement "sting" operation, as is done for alcohol sales, conducted in Benicia? Is one being planned?

• What progress has been made regarding the development of an informational campaign for local students through the DARE Program reminding them about the consequences of graffiti offenses?

• Has the Benicia Police Department ever pursued the option of requesting a delayed or suspended driver's license for graffiti offenders as provided by state law?

• What is being done to strengthen the Benicia Municipal Code with regard to graffiti offenses and possession of graffiti implements, as other cities and counties have done (e.g. Santa Cruz County)?

• What consideration is being given to improving neighbor-friendly lighting along the pathway?

• What progress is being made to repair the fencing around the tunnel entrances?

• What is the Benicia PDs policy regarding documenting graffiti offenses? How many have we had?

• What is the disposition of the tree removal and/or trimming and sidewalk repair?


Thanks again for your participation and support. – Ross Sagun

Comments from the neighborhood

Here are some of the comments that I have recently received. Keep them coming! Please don't forget to attend the meeting with the City on Monday, July 21st at 6pm at the corner of East 3rd St. and St. Augustine. I hope that you are enjoying this blog. We are making progress.
..Ross Sagun


First, I would like to commend the city for a wonderful job in their efforts to clean up the entire pedestrian path including the tunnel. As property owners adjacent to the path, we have been victims of vandalism including fence breakage, and our dog has suffered cuts to his paws from broken glass along the path. Frankly, we have been afraid to use the path ourselves for quite some time. I believe there have been several suggestions given on this site that would decrease the availability of the path for illegal activities. I strongly support the following initiatives:
-repair and enhance the fencing around the tunnel entrance
-installation of warning signs reinforcing the Benicia Municipal Code's graffiti ordinances
-strict enforcement of said ordinances, including suspension of driving privileges!
-development of school information program on said ordinances
-"sting" operation and letters to merchants reminding them of prohibition of sales of spray paint to minors
-FOOT PATROL ALONG THE PATH!!! There is absolutely no substitute for police presence when it comes to deterring this type of property crime and juvenile delinquency including underage drinking and drug usage.

I also strongly advocate the closing of the gate after 8 or 9 p.m. I have personally witnessed adults (far beyond the age of being a juvenile) that were walking on the path while clearly intoxicated and carrying alcohol in glass containers (which will certainly later be seen as glass fragments along the path).

We regularly hear a sound similar to a gunshot coming from the direction of the path and are unsure of its cause but believe it is connected to activity in or near the tunnel.

Respectfully, I am less sure of my support for a couple of the suggestions offered previously.
1) Removal of the pepper tree. While I share concern for visibility of the tunnel and proximity of the tree trunk to the path, as a property owner I do benefit a great deal from the tree in terms of privacy and beautification of my property, as it shields noise and views of the not-too-distant freeway and 2nd Street exit/entrance ramps. I agree with Mayor Patterson that the tree provides shade and mature beauty to the pathway, lending the type of aesthetic that I think makes the pathway a potential asset to the city. I believe the other suggestions above could reduce the level of vandalism along the path, and render this potential action unnecessary. I would like to see the city pursue this action as an absolute last resort.
2) Improving lighting along the pathway. I have noticed there is inadequate lighting at certain points along the pathway, but similar to my previous comment I am concerned about the impact of increased lighting on my home and the privacy of my yard. I would ask the city to consider installing the lighting along the path at a lower level closer to the path itself, which would increase lighting along the actual path while minimizing the glare ane potential negative impact to the residents adjoining the path. Even today with the lighting that isn't helping much along the path itself, I look out my window at an ugly, orange colored and useless street light that is incredibly distracting from an otherwise lovely view. I believe a brighter light installed lower and closer to the path would enhance safety and security along the path and also increase livability and property enjoyment for the adjacent homeowners.

I believe the city has taken some major steps to reverse the effect of years of neglect along the pedestrian path/tunnel. We spoke to Mayor Patterson about this concern as she was running for office, and I'm encouraged to see there have been actions taken by the city to address the concerns of citizens of our neighborhood and city. I believe with the implementation of these suggestions and continued focus on this area by Benicia P.D., the pedestrian path can be identified as a true Benicia asset in which we can take pride.
-BM 7/8/08



Wake up people.
-J.T. 7/13/08

It looks like your efforts have got the attention of the City.

There is a new tree ordnance which was just passed by the City Council. There is a mentality that thinks more trees are the way things should be. The term "remember the urban forest" has been quoted by Parks and Rec people several times. I reminded them about the fire at Lake Tahoe that burned 254 homes. That is off the subject that you are tackling, but the point is that when it comes to trees the progress is slow.
LC 7/15/08

I saw the Vallejo Times article online. I too contact and follow up on graffiti tagging with the city. I am a believer that tagging is a sign to potential customers and home buyers that the city could be in decline.

I live on Mountview Terrace (above the old city cemetery) and I was wondering if your neighborhood meeting on 7/21 would include our area. We have the vast majority of city public housing in our neighborhood and we see this problem increasing.

I completely agree with your “what needs to be done” list. The city needs to get engaged on this especially given our larger neighbor’s financial situation. We will see more and more Vallejo gangs (in addition to our own) tagging in Benicia if the city and its citizens do not take control of the situation and drive them out. I believe they will simply move on if their tags are quickly and completely erased.

My wife and I moved here from LA 10 years ago. The signs that Benicia may be going the way of the small outlying towns around LA are ominous. Tagging is not simply a nuisance, it’s the way the gangs and their want-to-be’s mark territory. Having a stabbing downtown last weekend reinforces this concept. We need to take action – Now.

BTW – Some of your photos show a 707 tag marked through. This is very bad. It means that another gang is challenging whatever gang it thinks is running Benicia. That tag suggests real violence. The rest of the tags look like “recognition tags” – Simply a name or nickname. I don’t see anything that looks like real gang tagging (MS13, etc.) but that can’t be far behind if we don’t take action.

Thanks for your leadership here –I hope you continue your work.

S.G. 7/15

read the article in the Benicia Herald but will be out of town for the July 21st meeting. I did not receive a notice from the city about the meeting. My family and I use the Tunnel almost every day. I have had an on-going dialogue with Dan Schiada, Nate Rankin, and Mike Roberts (all from Public Works) about the Tunnel for the past 4 years. We have had Neighborhood Watch meetings to address crime and Tunnel graffiti. The city receives calls from me whenever new obscenities or otherwise offensive tags go up. I must say, since Mr. Rankin became supervisor about a year ago, I have gotten a much quicker response than in past years. My no. 1 priority has been removal of broken glass and other debris that is a clear safety hazard to me and my children (we have gotten glass shards in our feet on the walk to school, for example). My second concern is the offensiveness of the images and words painted on the walls and floor of the tunnel, sidewal k, and fences. I am very appreciative of Mr. Rankin's efforts to clean up after the weekend revelry. The paper stated Mr. Schiada plans weekly paint-overs (in addition to the weekly cleaning that now takes place?). I am shocked, but pleasantly so. This is fantastic! I have read that the best deterrent to graffiti is to promptly and consistently paint over it. Now we will get to see for ourselves if this is true. Of note, I was promised by Mr. Schiada (at least I remember it as a promise) that the glass over the tunnel lights would be replaced with easy-cleaning glass so it would not be so dark in there. That was 4 years ago. I remain optimistic.

As for closing the tunnel at night, I understand there is a history behind that and the police dept has specific reasons why they do not want the tunnel closed. It never hurts to revisit the question of night-time closure, but from my discussions I would be surprised if they will seriously entertain the idea. Let them tell you why. If they do consider the idea, please know that the hour of closure would have to be pretty late (midnight?) in order to allow those of us who use it at night to get through. My family and I use it often throughout the school year, and I have friends in the Hillcrest neighborhood who use it frequently to get downtown at night during the summer. I would hope for a thorough dialogue - including people who actually use the tunnel - if this issue is pursued.

Lastly, I understand that the St. Augustine-St. Francis Ct. home owners association pays the city to take care of the upkeep of the sidewalk leading to the tunnel as well as the vegetation along the path. If that is true, why don't you all insist that the city do it's contracted job? The massive clean-up that has been taking place over the past month is about 5 years overdue. My pleas with the city seemingly went nowhere. I hope the city is going to fix the sidewalk (which my younger children have tripped on numerous times and skinned their knees) as part of the current project. Maintenance will be key. Will the home owners association be pressuring the city to keep things safe and clean along the path from now on? We would rejoice daily!

As an eastside pedestrian, I am thrilled that someone besides me is speaking up. I like to think that more people would walk if they felt safe and in pleasant surroundings. I have never let the problems of the Third St. Tunnel stop us from walking, just as the speeding traffic on Military and up Third doesn't stop us. But for those who are deterred by such intimidations, may they start to get out of their cars as things improve thanks to a concerted effort by all of us.

MP 7/16