Central Otago Mayor Tim Cadogan said the piazza was one idea mooted for enhancing the historic centre of Clyde and concept plans would be developed and put to the community. Full public consultation would be done.
The ideas had come from ``pre-consultation conversation starters'' already held with a Clyde planning group about the regeneration of Clyde's commercial centre and how to deal with parking issues there in peak season.
A preferred option was to turn Lodge Lane - which runs from Sunderland St to Holloway St - into a shared vehicle/pedestrian space and develop an ``Italian piazza-type'' area. The area could possibly be paved with a cobbled surface, with no defined footpath or road area. Traffic could still use the road, but it would be a ``shared space'' and cars would be travelling ``very slowly'', Mr Cadogan said.
As well as the Lodge Lane development, the possibility of extending Miner's Lane was being considered.
The narrow road is at present a two-way dead-end street that goes down to ``a beautiful and underutilised'' area alongside the Clutha River.
It was proposed the road become one-way, and be extended to continue through to Matau St, just above the Clyde bridge.
``This would open up large areas of long-term parking in Clyde and could include a walkway from the parking area directly up to the township.''
Mr Cadogan said some angle parking might be developed to provide additional parking.
He said that as much of the pressure being put on Clyde roading was from increasing tourist numbers, it was possible the Central Otago District Council would apply to the Government's Tourism Infrastructure Fund for ``significant assistance'' towards funding the roading projects.
Mr Cadogan was not yet certain of the timeframe for public consultation about the issue.
