The latest delay for the South Dunedin network comes after the council previously accepted problems with the roll-out, resulting in contractors ripping out and replacing parts of the network, costing hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Council infrastructure networks general manager Ruth Stokes said yesterday it was "fair to say'' a plan for a pared-back, high-quality South Dunedin network, endorsed by councillors last October, had been pushed back in favour of other cycleway priorities.
She could not say when the South Dunedin network, which last October was expected to be about a year and a-half away, would be completed, as any designs had to be approved by councillors first.
"At the moment, I can't really comment on how long that will take.''
Neither could she say whether the network would take the same shape as what was proposed last year, which involved linking Wharf St to St Clair, via Portsmouth Dr, Portobello Rd and a warren of St Kilda streets.
Last year's pared-back proposal came after a realisation people wanted a higher quality network than originally planned.
Mrs Stokes said at the time the city's cycleways could cost "three to four times'' more per metre than first thought.
She said yesterday that rather than working on South Dunedin, staff, who had limited resources, had concentrated on fixing the Portobello Rd cycleway - work on which would start next week - and the central city cycleway.
The decision was made to focus on the central city cycleway because it would link with the council's $37million plan to upgrade the CBD, Otago Regional Council's plan for a central city bus hub, and New Zealand Transport Agency's $8million plan for separated cycleways along the city's one-way street system.
"It's just about being sensible.
"With [NZTA's separated cycleways] going ahead, we would potentially open ourselves up to the situation where we have to come in a year or so later and alter intersections and that's obviously something we want to avoid.''
Any decisions on what a completed South Dunedin network might look like could be influenced by how the community reacted to the council's solution to problems identified on Portobello Rd, between Timaru St and Portsmouth Dr.
Referring to the work soon to begin on Portobello Rd, she said staff were cautious about rushing ahead with the completion of the South Dunedin network "without actually getting something right'' first.
Council parks and recreation group manager Richard Saunders said work installing cycle infrastructure in the central city could begin as early as the next financial year, which starts next month.
Other work could be timed to coincide with the CBD upgrade, Mr Saunders said.
The "central city cycleway'' covered a wider area than the CBD would include the area north of the CBD, linking with the tertiary precinct, and also down towards the harbourside.
What cycleway infrastructure was needed in the central city and where it would be installed would be influenced by a "route assessment'' due to be completed within the next month.
After the assessment, staff would engage with affected parties, including cycle advocacy group Spokes.
It was taking some time to develop the plans, partly out of a desire not to repeat some of the mistakes made in South Dunedin.
"We want to make sure that when we move on to the next stage that we are proposing to do is absolutely the best thing for everybody and that we have considered [the views of] all of the users and all of the people who might be be affected.''
Asked if the focus for major cycleways infrastructure was for the central city, rather than South Dunedin, he said: "At this stage it is, yes.''
But this did not mean South Dunedin was "completely off the table''.
● As part of this year's annual plan process councillors agreed to push back $1million worth of spending previously allocated towards the cycleways for the 2016-17 budget to the 2017-18 and 2018-19 years.
The total spend for the three years remained at more than $7.5million.
