Updated Saturday 24th April: On Monday 19th April 2010, Kalkan Turkish Local News reported that an access road to an area of Kızıltaş, was in danger of being cut.  Click here for Monday's report.

On Wednesday 21st April, we were pleased to report that a solution had been found. Click here for Wednesday's report.

The good news today, Friday, is that there is still a solution - but a different one to the one we were told earlier.  And importantly, the existing access road will not be cut, before the new road is in place.

We show below a Google map of the affected area.

The new solution does not entail going up the mountain towards the Mediteran Apart/Hotel. 

Instead, access is down by the Begonvil apartments, turn right, passing along what will be the new service road for a few hundred metres, before turning left, through a gap in the wall, then doubling back towards where the current (soon to be cut), access road is.  You will come out near to the Jandarma station.  Follow the orange dots.

The red dots show the road to be cut.

A number of people have been working hard on this problem over recent days, and thankfully the threat of isolating these properties has been averted.

One loose end is funding.  This work will have to be paid for.  Our sources tell us that the national Highway's Agency and the Belediye will not pay for it.

It remains to be seen exactly how this will be worked out, but in the meantime, the work will go ahead, in the expectation that an equitable solution on funding will emerge.

Access near the bus station
So it really looks like we have a happy ending on this one.  However, another problem area is emerging further up the road, where the Kızıltaş access road meets the D400, close to the bus station.

This temporary compacted soil road carries a lot of traffic from Kızıltaş, and also provides a route into town for pedestrians.  Yesterday morning, this access road was blocked, as diggers resumed work in this area.  Now, the only way out of Kızıltaş is to drive towards the Akbel Road, coming out on Kaktüs Sokak (by Swan Villa).  If you are on foot, you could possibly try getting out by walking towards the main traffic light junction, or towards the Begonvil development, but the road surfaces are treacherous.

It's not a problem if you are on a scooter or in a car, but it is a huge detour for pedestrians.  If you are on foot, access into town is now a serious hike, and you would need to wear some strong shoes.

We are told that this is a temporary situation, but we can't get any definite answer on what 'temporary' means.  The people we spoke to are accutely aware that the main tourist season is imminent.

Update: The diggers are laying telecoms cables, and we are informed that the road should be usable again by the end of April.

The footbridge
We have heard that the proposed footbridge across the D400, near to the bus station has been put on hold.  It has not been ruled out completely, but it looks like being delayed.

Road by the Arçelik shop
This road is proving to be difficult to go ahead with, mainly due to the fact that it currently carries a large water gulley.  The impact of building a road here, and the implications for where the surface water from the Kızıltaş mountain side will drain, have got to be worked out.  We don't expect that anything will be happening here, in the short term.