ALSANCAK COASTAL CORRIDOR – TWO-STAGE TURN ATTEMPT WITHOUT MEDIAN REFUGE

Certain segments of the Alsancak Coastal Corridor offer no physical median island, yet drivers still attempt staged crossings as if one exists.

The risk forms when a two-stage turn is improvised on a single continuous carriageway.

Time pattern: 17:00–19:30 weekdays. Secondary window: 13:00–15:00 Saturdays.

A vehicle positioned on the inland side intends to cross westbound flow and join the eastbound lane toward Karaoğlanoğlu. Because westbound traffic is steady but spaced, the driver identifies a gap and advances halfway across the corridor.

There is no protected refuge.

A typical sequence unfolds:

Vehicle A waits on the inland edge facing the seafront side.
A westbound gap appears.
Vehicle A crosses the first lane and pauses partially across the centerline, expecting a second-stage gap in eastbound flow.
Eastbound vehicles approach closer than anticipated.

The vehicle remains exposed at an angle, occupying part of the carriageway.

Unlike structured intersections with painted medians or physical islands, this segment of Alsancak Coastal Corridor provides no designated holding space. Drivers rely on memory of other corridors where staged crossing is possible.

The corridor visually appears wide enough. Functionally, it is continuous.

Historically, as traffic volume intensified along the strip through the 2010s and into the 2020s, opportunities for full single-motion crossing narrowed. Drivers adapted by dividing the maneuver into two parts without structural support.

Evening conditions magnify the exposure. Headlights from eastbound vehicles reduce depth clarity for a driver positioned across the centerline. Westbound drivers may not anticipate a vehicle stopped diagonally in the carriageway.

The structural seam is clear:

Continuous dual-direction flow
Improvised staged crossing
No median refuge
Exposure between lanes

The risk is not aggressive driving. It is partial commitment without protected geometry.

On the Alsancak Coastal Corridor, a two-stage turn requires a physical island to be safe. Where none exists, the pause point becomes the hazard.

The first gap looks sufficient.
The second gap is already closing.