Stripping graffiti off street signs would become as easy as a rag, cleanser and a bit of elbow grease under a law proposed Tuesday at the Board of Supervisors.
The legislation, proposed by Supervisor Bevan Dufty, would require that each Department of Parking and Traffic sign defaced with graffiti be replaced by signs treated with a graffiti-resistant coating.
Calling the signs "easy easels" for street vandals, Dufty joined Supervisor Fiona Ma in his City Hall office for an infomercial-style demonstration of the coating. The supervisors scrubbed paint off a coated sign in a matter of seconds. The same effort on a non-coated sign left a dark stain and faded the official lettering.
Dufty estimated the parking and traffic department has 160,000 signs throughout San Francisco. Of those, several thousand are replaced each year due to graffiti and damage. Replacing a sign runs The City about $8 now, and the cost would double with the addition of the new coating.
"If in the short term it costs a little more, it's absolutely worth it," Dufty said.