Suspect arrested in ‘Slow down’ street painting, but messages persist in chalk

Despite a suspect being arrested, graffiti reading “Slow down” is continuing in Bird Rock, causing divisions among local residents.

Plus, the graffiti has switched from spray paint to chalk, creating a new complication for police.

In February, Bird Rock residents reported that the two-word admonition to motorists had been spray-painted on a few streets, including La Jolla Boulevard. The city of San Diego dispatched crews to cover the graffiti with patches.

However, Bird Rock Community Council President Joe Terry said at the time that almost as quickly as the graffiti was covered, “someone was back painting over what the city had done.”

In early March, police said they had identified a suspect, who they say is female.

San Diego police Lt. Matt Botkin said this month that the person was arrested on suspicion of felony vandalism “due to costs incurred to cover up the [messages].”

But in the aftermath of the arrest, more “Slow down” messages have been written on the streets — reportedly by the same person — but in chalk, which Botkin said “would not qualify as a new crime because it is a temporary medium, as opposed to paint, which is permanent.”

Information about the suspect’s current legal status was not immediately available.

Botkin said the suspect will not be questioned further if she continues to use chalk or “as long as the medium she is using is not of a permanent nature or such that it would cause damage to any surface it is applied to.”

The messages have created a divide among residents — some of whom argue that the focus should be on reducing speeding, while others say they are more bothered by the graffiti.

“The irony, of course, is that people are going too fast,” one resident told the La Jolla Light on condition that her name not be used. “People turn on Camino de la Costa [where the northernmost roundabout is] to avoid the five roundabouts in Bird Rock, then really pick up speed on La Jolla Hermosa (Avenue].”

The resident said she has seen the street messages in her neighborhood and said the writer “just steps aside and waves at people when a car needs to go by.”

“Obviously it is graffiti,” the resident said, “but why removing it is such a priority is beyond me.”

Others disagree.

“Honestly, I don’t find speeding to be much of an issue at all compared to L.A. and Ventura County, where I lived for 35-plus years,” said resident Dani Ruy. “With the amount of tourists San Diego gets, I rarely see an opportunity for anyone to speed since there are so many drivers just cruising at low speeds. Then, throwing in the millions of walkers, we have to stop and wait constantly. When we go at regular speeds, it feels like speeding. …

“Graffiti is disgusting and a bigger problem, I feel.”

Botkin said police “run a special detail specifically for traffic enforcement, which is based in part on community complaints and concerns. We encourage the community in Bird Rock and elsewhere to let us know where we can best serve them. Our focus has been and continues to be traffic enforcement.”

The San Diego Police Department’s Northern Division, which includes La Jolla, can be reached at (858) 552-1700 or via email at SDPDNorthern@pd.sandiego.gov. ◆

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