Answer to 17. toad fence

17th toad fence

In spring, the city of Erlangen erected a toad fence at the old train station. As no toads are settling there, it is requested that the fence be removed again.

Answer from the Office for Environmental Protection and Energy:
The fence at the former train station that you mentioned at the Frauenaurach citizens' meeting on 24.10.2023 is not a toad fence but a reptile fence. Deutsche Bahn will be carrying out construction work along the railroad line in 2024. In the area of the former station, track areas that are no longer used will be dismantled and the ballast will be replaced along the entire route up to the waste transfer station. This will also require construction site areas along the line. The fenced-off area at the former Frauenaurach station will also be used as such.
In preparation for the measures, the route was examined for specially and strictly protected animal species. These species include the sand lizard(Lacerta agilis). § Section 44 (1) of the Federal Nature Conservation Act regulates the special species protection that applies to specially and strictly protected animal species. It is therefore prohibited to kill these species, to significantly disturb them during sensitive life phases such as hibernation and to destroy their habitats.
Sand lizards prefer to hibernate in the root zone of woody plants. To prevent the protected animals from being killed during the work and use as a construction site installation area, Deutsche Bahn erected the reptile fence in the spring before the animals became active, among other things, to prevent them from entering the area and to avoid killing them as far as possible.
In order to achieve the greatest possible success, such avoidance measures must be started sufficiently in advance. For this reason, implementation of the avoidance measures began in April 2023, although the planned project will not be implemented until 2024.
These fences will also be used at other construction sites if they are adjacent to wooded areas.
Once the work has been completed, the fences will be dismantled.