Every day that Waikiki resident Toby Allen goes out on a run, walk or bike ride is an opportunity for him to take a fresh look at his urban community.

His keen eye takes in every little mark, tick or ding that wasn't there the day before. He is looking mostly for graffiti, an eyesore that he spends his own money to wipe out.

One recent day he went out on his usual loop along the Ala Wai armed with a bucket of gray paint, a spray can of green paint, a rag and a paintbrush. He spotted bright yellow and blue graffiti on the benches that front the Ala Wai Canal.

"I just hate graffiti," Allen said. "I like to give back to the community."

On his walk he points out an electrical box that he's painted gray more than a dozen times in his nearly two years in Waikiki. Park benches show layers of gray paint that Allen has applied. Recently, Allen hung over the side of the McCully Bridge with his roller to paint out graffiti. Even the palm trees were tagged recently and Allen painted over the markings.

"I buy my own paint, brushes and rollers," he said. "Last week the area of Atkinson and Ala Moana got hit by graffiti. I called the Graffiti Hotline, but in the end I wound up painting over it."

The 66-year-old Allen spends about $300 a year out of his own pocket on supplies. A gallon of paint can last a couple of months, he said.

Graffiti has become a part of the urban landscape. Some consider it art; to others it's vandalism. Some cities have come up with unusual solutions. City Councilman Charles Djou last year proposed that the city establish a graffiti wall for taggers to use. Graffiti is illegal in Hawai'i, and parents are held responsible for damage done by minors. Purchase of spray paint by minors is illegal in Honolulu.

Each city department works to make sure its facilities are graffiti-free, said Bill Brennan, Mayor Mufi Hannemann's spokesman. And while volunteers are not discouraged from helping maintain public areas, the city wants to ensure that volunteers don't take safety risks, Brennan said.

"The city does have volunteers helping using their own time and paint," Brennan said. "We're always concerned about safety, however. And we don't want someone to risk life and limb to eradicate graffiti."

Teams of volunteers have joined the city in its Adopt a Block and Adopt a Stream programs, he said.

Allen considers graffiti vandalism and, as such, feels that the best defense is a good offense. He works to help keep Waikiki free of the urban vandalism so tourists can see the beauty.

If he spots the scribbling of a tagger, within 24 hours he's hitting the streets with his paint and brush. With this approach, many taggers don't return, he said.

For the past 20 years, Allen has painted over graffiti in whatever city he's lived in. Chicago, Los Angeles, Concord, Calif., Los Angeles and Washington, D.C.

A hotel manager by profession, Allen knows how important a clean environment is to a guest.

"If every building owner was required to paint over graffiti within a 24-hour period, or face having to reimburse the city, then there wouldn't be any," Allen said. "I don't know how the kids tag this or why, but I know that it has to be removed quickly. Then they get fed up."

Reach Suzanne Roig at sroig@honoluluadvertiser.com.