Approximately 30 city staff and members of the business community turned out Thursday morning to tackle the growing graffiti problem in the downtown core and pick up litter.

Divided into groups of two, three and four, the crews worked along the bank of the Yukon River to Rotary Peace Park and up to Shipyards Park, along Main Street and other problem areas.

Mayor Bev Buckway's crew went south along the riverbank to the park.

'It was all over the place,' Buckway said of the graffiti. 'There was graffiti on city signs; there was graffiti on wooden benches, utility boxes, garbage cans, and little doggy bag dispensers.

'It was on fuel tanks. It was on picnic tables....'

Buckway said she is still not convinced that moving in the direction of a new city bylaw to deal specifically with graffiti is required.

Graffiti is already against the law as it is an act of vandalism, she said.

Continuing education, and dialogue with community groups, particularly the business community, which is largely affected by the spray painting, is right now the way to proceed, she said.

Buckway is also inviting those who paint graffiti to call her and tell her how they might reach some common ground to reduce the amount of unwanted artwork all over the city.

'I would like to hear from them, to see if there is something they would like to see that they could put their work like a big block wall or a fence.'

The mayor noted she had to break away from the cleanup duties to meet with 24 military personnel visiting the city from 13 countries.

It was acknowledged by everyone in the group that graffiti was indeed a problem. But there was also consensus that providing a venue where graffiti is welcome generally leads to a reduction of graffiti where it's not welcome, she said.

Those who spray graffiti have to recognize they are defacing private property. And that it is just as upsetting to property owners as it would be to those vandals if their homes were tarnished by someone freewheeling a can of spray paint, the mayor explained.

Perhaps it's time for friends and relatives who know who's doing the damage to turn in the culprits through anonymous phone calls, she suggested.

The business community is seeing more graffiti occurring, and is growing increasingly frustrated by it.

Whitehorse businessman Rolf Hougen was on hand at city hall Thursday morning to help kick off of the cleanup.

Hougen told how very recently a video camera captured two youth on bikes drive up to The Brick furniture store on Alexander Street and tag one of the walls; one did the spray painting, the other kept a look-out.

Last weekend, the Elijah Smith Building and the prospector statue on Main Street were tagged.

Tom Sparrow, director of operations for the federal Department of Public Works, said the spray paint has soaked into the granite, and attempts to remove it have failed.

The federal government is looking a bring in a specialist from the Kelowna, B.C. business Goodbye Graffiti to see if it can assist.

Granite companies are also being contacted to see if they can provide any advice, he said.

Sparrow said it's not possible from a financial or technical aspect to replace the individual panels, each measuring six centimetres in thickness.

'It is terrible,' Sparrow said. 'It is absolutely terrible.'

Rick Karp, president of the Whitehorse Chamber of Commerce, has expressed frustration recently, noting complaints from members about their properties being tagged are flowing in regularly.

Karp said the issue is generating more and more attention from the chamber, city hall, the Whitehorse area police advisory committee and the Main Street business community.

As a chamber representative, he's met with the Yukon's Department of Justice to see if there is a solution that can be found in the sentencing of those found guilty of graffiti, such as community service time spent removing or painting over graffiti.

Later this month, the RCMP will fly in a crime prevention specialist for general discussion, though the issue of graffiti will be on the agenda, he said.

Coincidentally, CBC television's The National raised the problem of graffiti in a feature this week, and noted how communities across the country are being hit by it and searching for solutions.

It was pointed out the City of London, Ont. has passed a bylaw prohibiting the sale of spray paint to anyone under 18.

In addition to cleaning up several graffiti sites during Thursday's cleanup, work crews picked up about 25 bags of garbage.