New graffiti-battling drone deemed 'very effective' in WSDOT report

According to new report from the Washington Department of Transportation (WSDOT), two pilot programs have been successful in helping to prevent graffiti, as well as helping to cover up graffiti.

The first pilot program involves drones. As KOMO reported in April 2024, WSDOT in Tacoma started testing drone technology to see if the devices were capable of removing graffiti from hard-to-reach places. At the time, WSDOT workers hoped the drones could make quick work of painting over graffiti on tall retaining walls, bridges, and overpasses. Money for the technology was budgeted through a house bill approved by Washington's legislature in the 2024 session.

More than six months later, a new report from WSDOT called the technology "very effective" at spraying paint along state highways. According to that report, the drone was used on 21 missions in 2024 alone, helping to cover up $22,000 worth of graffiti. Additionally, by the time that the pilot program expires in June 2025, officials hoped that more than $60,000 worth of graffiti would be erased.

The new results come as costs to clean up graffiti continue to rise.

According to WSDOT, road workers spent more than $815,000 on graffiti removal statewide in 2023, with removal costs averaging $3,000 per case. Additionally, WSDOT estimated that yearly graffiti removal required 10,300 hours of labor to cover up 700,000 square feet of graffiti.

Despite the pilot program's success, WSDOT reported that other maintenance needs may be higher priorities for funding than simply graffiti removal.

"While drones are a cost-effective additional tool, graffiti removal is and will remain a challenge for the agency based on available funding, staffing and resources and the many other Maintenance Operations required duties such as guardrail and pothole replacement, storm response, etc," the report noted. "As a result, allocating resources to remove graffiti is challenging, even with the added benefits drones provide."

Beyond drone technology, the state also tested detection systems for graffiti. Those devices featured either cameras or radar, and used artificial intelligence to hone in on taggers.

As a result, whenever a tagger was spotted, the systems alerted WSDOT's traffic management centers. In turn, workers at those centers would notify state troopers nearby, leading them to respond to tagging incidents in progress.

As part of that program, systems were tested from three different graffiti detection companies during a month-long period between September and October 2024.

According to WSDOT's report, the cameras were also successful at catching taggers in the act, with two out of every three tagging incidents leading to vandalism alerts.

"The pilot showed evidence the technology exists to detect taggers in real time and its ability to alert the (Traffic Management Centers) who can verify the notification and pass it onto WSP for enforcement, but issues such as funding and WSP staffing levels remain," the report noted.

As a result, WSDOT's detection systems are only scheduled to be used through June 2025. WSDOT said it would need more funding to extend the program beyond that time.