This comes amid concern over cycle safety in Dunedin after cyclist Dr Li Hong ''Chris'' He (34), a lecturer at the university, was killed after being run over by a stock truck outside Dunedin Hospital last November. His death prompted a call for cycle safety improvements, with the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) conducting a safety review of one-way state highway systems through Dunedin after a request from the Dunedin City Council.
Cycle safety advocate and Otago University researcher Prof Hank Weiss last month said putting a cycle lane or a shared path through the university would mean fewer people would be forced to cycle on the city's one-way system.
''I have been an advocate of that for several years,'' Prof Weiss said.
It would be possible to design a path in such a way to prevent conflicts with pedestrians, he said.
When asked if the university would consider putting in a cycle lane, Otago University property services director Barry MacKay said ''the university has no plans to develop cycle lanes through the campus because of pedestrian safety concerns''.
The major obstacle to putting in a lane was the central campus cycle ban which was in place to ensure the safety of students, staff and visitors on campus, he said.
When asked yesterday about the university's response, Prof Weiss said installing a lane was a ''longer term issue'' and other ''quick wins'' could be made sooner.
''We ought first to address the risks that come about from decades of discouraging cycling through campus, especially along Leith St and the Leith walk, with its narrow chicanes, narrow bridges, blind corners, and unaccommodating speed bumps,'' he said.
He also called on the university to take another look at the campus cycle ban and allowing more shared spaces for cyclists, pedestrians, wheelchair users, skateboarders and others.
''The cycle ban arose from an incident more than a quarter-century ago in which a lecturer ... was seriously injured after colliding with a cyclist as he emerged around a blind corner.''
If that happened today, it would probably be put down to poor path design rather than the fault of either the cyclist or the pedestrian, he said.
