Days after plans for a new pedestrian and cycle bridge crossing the city's railway line were unveiled, Dunedin City Council staff have recommended a new footpath - costing just $96,000 - to link with an existing pathway across part of the Jetty St overbridge.
The new footpath would run up the Jetty St on-ramp from Cumberland St and link to pathways already in place across the rest of the overbridge, council senior transportation planner Lisa Clifford said.
The addition would improve safety for pedestrians walking on an existing narrow ledge while negotiating the on-ramp.
If approved by councillors, the new footpath could be built from the council's minor improvements budget, some time during the 2011-12 financial year, she said.
Council staff were asked during last year's annual plan hearings to investigate adding a clip-on to the overbridge.
Ms Clifford, in a report to be considered at Tuesday's infrastructure services committee, instead recommended building the new footpath within the existing carriageway of the on-ramp.
The new footpath would extend 2m into the on-ramp's 8m-wide carriageway, reducing the space for vehicles to 6m, she said.
"Narrowing it down will, hopefully, slow the traffic that's going up the ramp as well, so it's kind of a double win, I guess," she told the Otago Daily Times.
Adding a clip-on would be safer for pedestrians, providing greater separation from vehicles, but would require the purchase of a small amount of private land, her report said.
That meant the overall cost would be considerably higher, with an estimated bill of $600,000 likely, she said.
Ms Clifford told the ODT the new walkway would complement, rather than duplicate, plans for a new bridge nearby at the Chinese Garden.
Plans for the pedestrian and cycle bridge, costing anywhere between $1.5 million and $3.5 million, were announced by Mayor Dave Cull on Wednesday.
It was expected the footpath, located further south than the proposed bridge, would cater for commuters rather than tourists, Ms Clifford said.
"I think it just provides that additional connectivity across. We have more than one-car access, so why not have more than one pedestrian [access]?"
