Apparent uptick in North Ogden Divide spray painting spurs safety concerns
Graffiti is seen along the North Ogden Divide roadway on Tuesday, May 5, 2020, in North Ogden.
Graffiti is seen along the North Ogden Divide roadway on Tuesday, May 5, 2020, in North Ogden.
Graffiti is seen along the North Ogden Divide roadway on Tuesday, May 5, 2020, in North Ogden.
Graffiti is seen along the North Ogden Divide roadway on Tuesday, May 5, 2020, in North Ogden.
Graffiti is seen along the North Ogden Divide roadway on Tuesday, May 5, 2020, in North Ogden.
Graffiti is seen along the North Ogden Divide roadway on Tuesday, May 5, 2020, in North Ogden.
Graffiti is seen along the North Ogden Divide roadway on Tuesday, May 5, 2020, in North Ogden.
Traversing the North Ogden Divide in recent weeks, Zane Williams has noticed an unpleasant change.
“I’ve seen a handful of spray paint cans on the side of the road that have been discarded,” he said.
More significantly, he’s noticed graffiti — more of it. It’s expanded from a pair of boulders alongside the mountainous road linking North Ogden and the Ogden Valley to road barriers to the actual roadway itself. Given the characteristics of the North Ogden Divide — narrow, curving, with sharp falloffs on the mountainside — he brings it up not just because it detracts from the natural beauty of the area.
“As much as it’s an aesthetic issue, it’s a safety issue as well,” said the Pleasant View man, who’s building a home in the Ogden Valley and regularly travels the roadway. That is, he worries about an accident involving whoever it is that’s doing the roadside painting, someone getting hit by a passing car, perhaps while trying to evade detection.
Weber County officials are aware of the uptick in graffiti. Like Williams, a pediatric physician’s assistant, Weber County Commissioner Scott Jenkins wonders if it stems from the closure of schools brought on by the coronavirus and teens having more time on their hands than usual. “Now that they’re not in school, they go up there and horse around,” Jenkins said.
Indeed, the graffiti seems to have its roots in the rivalry between high school students given the predominant colors used, the red of Weber High School and the blue of Fremont High School. The boulders that have been the focus of much of the graffiti sit on the south side of the North Ogden Divide, upslope of North Ogden.
“There’s always been kind of a Fremont-Weber rivalry. They paint the rock blue, then they paint it red,” said Sean Wilkinson, director of the county’s Community and Economic Development Department.
Williams suspects others may be involved, though, not just high schoolers. Some of the more recent graffiti doesn’t seem to have anything to do with the two schools. What’s more, it’s taken a more graphic turn, including phallic representations.
Gary Myers, the Weber County engineer, said Weber County Sheriff’s Office officials, who didn’t immediately respond to a Standard-Examiner query seeking comment, have increased patrolling of the roadway. Otherwise, there’s not much he can do. “That issue is more of an enforcement issue than a road issue,” Myers said.
Williams, though, questions whether increased policing is the answer. It’s a tough area to regularly patrol. Instead, removing the two boulders that are the focus of the painters’ attention may be the solution.
Meantime, he said he’s vigilant whenever he drives through the area, mindful that someone might be lurking along the shoulder and cautious to avoid a mishap.