Capdepera Takes Action: Repair of the Dilapidated Roads in Costa de Canyamel Underway

Finally some movement in Costa de Canyamel

Residents of Costa de Canyamel know the potholes, crumbling edges, and dusty driveways from first-hand experience. For a long time, people there took matters into their own hands or looked the other way. Now the Capdepera municipal administration has announced that it will tackle the most poorly maintained road sections in the urbanization. This is good news for the around 270 property owners on site.

What's planned

The plan includes repairs to the areas with the most damage: applying hot asphalt with primer and a wear layer in some places, and in others laying concrete paving. It is not about cosmetic actions, but measures intended to endure in the long term. According to the town hall, this is part of ongoing maintenance planning — with a budget in the mid six-figure range.

Paulino Faba, responsible for municipal planning, emphasized that they want to first repair the most urgent deficits and then proceed step by step. This is how administrative decisions sometimes need to look: start small, check, adjust.

The residents have not given up

A detail that is important to me: The local residents' association did not stand idly by. Under the leadership of Eva Jung-Gohlke, in spring 2024 some sections were asphalted at their own expense by a local construction company — an amount that can be described as in the mid five-figure range. This shows how frustrated many were, but also how engaged.

The settlement has had no proper infrastructure for years. Sidewalks, street lighting, drinking water supply and especially a functioning sewer system are missing in many places. A much more expensive project for complete provision was once planned — cost around 19 million — but failed due to legal hurdles. Such numbers sound large, but for the residents the daily inconvenience is much more immediate.

What should happen now

The municipality wants to sit down with the residents to clarify which steps are possible and how priorities should be set. A meeting has been announced; the hope is to address fire safety (overgrown escape routes) as well. Anyone who has driven through the streets in the evening knows how dark it can get in places.

For many people there — especially for the German-speaking owners who have fought for years — this is a beacon of hope. Whether all problems can be solved immediately, of course no one knows. But the fact that something is being done changes the mood on site.

I was briefly on site last week, spoke with neighbors and saw how relieved some reacted. Small steps, honest conversations — perhaps exactly what this settlement needs right now.