OBSERVER Photo by M.J. Stafford Graffiti lines the wall of the Robin Street tunnel in Dunkirk.

The Robin Street pedestrian tunnel in Dunkirk runs through the range of a romance gone bad: In one spot the graffiti says, “Babygirl, you cute,” and in another it declares, “Go to HELL!”

Hardly a secluded lovers’ lane, the infamous tunnel is filled with graffiti, often stinks of urine and is a favored site for drug deals. After years of trying to clean it up, the city is finally set to install digital video cameras there.

In response to a question last week by Second Ward councilman Marty Bamonto about the status of the tunnel, Department of Public Works Randy Woodbury said a conduit has been installed under a new sidewalk on Robin Street to link the camera to electricity and a data link. The data from the cameras will be sent through the link to be recorded inside a city building. The camera are also supposed to be monitored at the police station. Woodbury did not say when the cameras will be installed.

“The mayor informed me that there are actions we can take. Regardless of who’s doing the damage inside the tunnel, you’re going to be watched and we’re going to take appropriate action with that,” Woodbury said. “It’s a nice project, I got to meet a lot of the people on that block, they were very thankful for the project. They kept an eye on the concrete while it cured so I’d like to thank that neighborhood.

“We’re going to keep the tunnel in good shape and with the police’s help, we’re going to keep it enforced,” he concluded.

Mayor Wilfred Rosas told the OBSERVER in February that the city was contracting with DFT Communications of Fredonia for the work on the tunnel camera system. He added that new and improved lighting would be installed in the tunnel.

Judging by a visit to the tunnel Thursday, the lights are in, as the tunnel is now much more brightly lit than before. However, without cameras in place yet, that has apparently done nothing to deter the “taggers,” whose graffiti lines both walls and the tunnel floor. The interior of the tunnel is not visible from the street.

A former councilman, Shaun Heenan, donated money to the city so the tunnel could get repainted in 2019. The taggers ruined that almost immediately.