Dunedin City Council transport group manager Richard Saunders said the work at the Andersons Bay inlet end of the pathway aimed to improve the surface for cyclists and pedestrians.
The work would extend along Portsmouth Dr towards the city over the next six to eight weeks, he said.
The project followed feedback from cyclists saying the path was becoming ''a little bit rough'' and had other issues, such as a lack of kerb separating cyclists from the road in places, he said.
The work was also part of a wider $4 million contract awarded to Fulton Hogan to improve connections between existing cycleways around the harbour, he said.
That included the Otago Peninsula shared path along Portobello Rd, the West Harbour's State Highway 88 pathway, and the planned cycle and pedestrian bridge over the Water of Leith, work on which was to begin within weeks.
Two-thirds of the spending would be funded by the New Zealand Transport Agency and the remainder by the DCC.
Mr Saunders said the latest figures, to be presented to councillors next week, showed the number of cyclists using the Portsmouth Dr route was climbing steadily.
The count rose from about 76,000 individual trips by cyclists in 2015, to 101,000 in 2016 and 109,000 last year. That trend continued, as just under 50,000 trips were recorded between January and the end of May this year.
Mr Saunders said the numbers showed one-way trips by a mix of recreational and commuter cyclists. As the Otago Peninsula and West Harbour paths grew, the numbers using the harbour connections would keep rising.
''We're getting increases, which is great, and this [work] is obviously aimed at encouraging more people to use those facilities.''
Portsmouth Dr would remain open to users while the improvements were carried out, ''but there may be times where they do need to ride over a rougher surface or a gravel surface''.
''We will endeavour to provide the best service we can through that area, to make sure there's safe passage for cyclists and pedestrians.''
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Comments
Wow, 100,000 uses last year. That’s an average of one use every 5 minutes. What a great investment!
Let’s spend more money on this, after all the ratepayers are always happy to spend money to assist old men with grey beards - the main users of bicycles.
It's still not trendy complaining about the cycleways, FYI.
Despite your sarcasm, it is actually a good investment as it clearly shows it is used frequently, although some people prefer to complain about it instead of use it because it requires less exercise.
And might i suggest taking a closer look at cyclists next time you're outside, yes there are a number of older/middle age males riding them, but you've conveniently left out the rest of the population (like me) who ride bikes in this city.
I'm a ratepayer, i haven't ridden on this path, but i'm still happy with money being spent to improve it. Because one day i might just use it, instead of pick holes in it like so many residents of this city prefer to do. Get out there and ride! No-one says you have to wear lycra/tight clothing, wear what you want like i do.
No mention of pedestrian numbers. If greater numbers of cyclists are simply driving out pedestrians, then it's a zero-sum game and a waste of public money.
Portsmouth Drive has never been Piccadilly Circus. Not a pedestrian space.
The amount of cyclists that I have seen riding along the Portobello Road section is laughable, maybe 1-2.
Oftentimes I have seen none. All that money spent, what a waste.
There's far too much money spent on roads and permanent ways for motor vehicles. It's as if cars are too fragile for any non smooth surface.
100K cyclists works out to 274 trips a day. Assuming these are return trips, that works out to 137 trips a day. Or 5.7 trips every hour in a 24 hour day.
That suddenly doesn't sound like a good reason to spend millions of dollars of taxpayers and ratepayers money to me.
Of course, what would I know? I just did the basic maths!