Saving Toads - You Can Help!

Why do toads cross the road? To get to their breeding ponds. Unfortunately, some of those roads are heavily traveled by cars and the results are deadly for the toads. In Roxborough, a Philadelphia neighborhood, hundreds of toads migrate from nearby woods and gardens to the Roxborough Reservoir south of the ball fields. Each year, more than a hundred toads are squished by cars, especially on Eva Street, Port Royal Road and Hagy's Mill Road. If present trends continue, this could eliminate the toad population. Ideally, roads should be designed with barriers leading to underpasses for toads.

TOAD DETOUR is an effort to protect toads as they migrate to and from their breeding ground each year and to raise public awareness about the migration. The TOAD DETOUR Committee is composed of local citizens and officials from various agencies (Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education, Mobilization For Animals Pennsylvania, Fairmount Park, Applied Ecological Services, Residents of Shawmont Valley Association, Philadelphia Police Department 5th District, Philadelphia Streets Department). The main goal of the Committee is to initiate new policies improving migration safety for the local toads. The Committee will establish a temporary road detour on evenings of heavy migration and educate the community about migration safety.

If you are concerned about toads, you can join efforts to protect them during their annual migration by signing up as a Committee Member or Community Volunteer. For more information, click HERE.