Dunedin woman Fiona Russell says crossing the road requires careful manoeuvring because of the steep slope dipping down towards the gutter.
Her electric wheelchair weighed between 150kg and 160kg and there had been occasions when she had fallen out or the chair had tipped over.
She needed to position her wheelchair on an angle so she did not topple over on the steep incline.
Pedestrian crossing signals could be very short, only about six seconds, and by the time she had pressed the button and positioned her wheelchair, the signal turned red before she had even begun crossing the road.
The paving at the intersection of Hillside Rd and King Edward St had been updated a few years ago, but it was still difficult to cross the road because of the gradient from the footpath to the road.
She said this intersection had been better when it was a Barnes Dance crossing.
Other intersections around Dunedin had the same problem, and people with mobility challenges, including using walking frames, could also find it an issue, Ms Russell said.
Dunedin City Council transport engineer Ian Martin said the requirements of a wide range of pedestrian users were always considered before upgrades, but there were various challenges in the city, including hills and older infrastructure.
"It is a really difficult one and you can’t fix it for everyone, unfortunately."
"We have design standards and we will get as close as we can to that but it is not always 100% possible."
One option being trialled was a metal ramp created by Dunedin inventor and engineer Larry Burns.
The ramp had the benefit of being strong enough for cars to drive over and had a spring mechanism to keep it in place.
The ramp had been trialled by the Ministry of Social Development in Bond St for more than six months and there had been positive anecdotal feedback about it.
"We’ve not had any real issues with it."
The council was waiting on more ramps created by Mr Martin, which they hoped to trial in several different sites that could include outside Farmers in George St, the School of Physiotherapy in Great King St and the physiotherapy pool in Hanover St.
Metal ramps could be used to "fill the gap" for sites when more permanent improvements were planned but not yet completed, or when there was construction or roadworks taking place, Mr Martin said.
"These are just an interim step to help people out before we have planned and designed the full thing."
