Mayor's footbridge becomes a pure leisure facility

The city of Erlangen maintains a total of 18 leisure facilities in the city area to offer citizens without their own garden green spaces for leisure activities and celebrations. Some of the facilities are also combined with playgrounds and sports equipment. The leisure facilities are cleaned regularly. However, in a few areas - namely where many people regularly use the facilities - there are also conflicting interests: in particular at the Lewin-Poeschke facility, better known as the "Bürgermeistersteg".

Developing the area further with citizens

An expert report commissioned for this purpose makes it clear that the intensive use of the area as a leisure facility close to the city center in combination with children's play equipment, in this case three swings, is not justifiable in the long term for safety reasons. Broken glass can never be completely removed from the play equipment and poses a risk of injury, especially for small children.

As there are several easily accessible playgrounds in the vicinity of the leisure facility, the play equipment in the Lewin-Poeschke area (photo) is to be removed in the summer. The sandy areas will be replaced by grass. The football pitch, on the other hand, is to be equipped with a harder surface, which will also make it easier to clean. In the medium term, there are also plans to further design the area with the involvement of local residents.

Stephan Beck, Head of the Office for District Work: "In recent years, the impression has often arisen that conflicts of use arise on the site, primarily because of the Bergkirchweih period. But the fact is that this facility is used by many people from the city center throughout the warm season. And although the majority of users behave properly, bottles are still broken and problems arise. We have examined alternatives such as moving the play equipment to a nearby area in detail, but they are not feasible.

At the same time, the city is working hard to tackle problems with the use of the area by revelers during the Bergkirchweih. "The celebrations there are not a city event and no one acts as the organizer. Nevertheless, we have a responsibility to monitor the situation of revelers at the Bürgermeistersteg as closely as possible," explains Thomas Ternes, Head of Legal Affairs, Human Resources and Digitalization.

What is the city doing?

For this reason, the waste problem is being tackled. For example, more suitable, large waste bins are being placed in the area. For the first time, there will also be a free and regularly cleaned toilet facility (toilet container) at the northern end of the site during the Bergkirchweih. The city hopes that the toilet facilities will improve cleanliness. Ultimately, however, it is also about safety, as in recent years young women in particular have been harassed when going to the toilet in the "bushes".

Finally, the youth welfare office will also be on site with outreach youth social work to support young people in difficult situations. The activities are closely coordinated with the Safe Space - a retreat for young women during the Bergkirchweih period.

"We hope that our measures will help to improve the situation. We will evaluate the impact with everyone involved and adapt measures if necessary," concludes Thomas Ternes.

(An abridged version is also available in the city newspaper "Rathausplatz 1" - April 2024 issue)