Councillors had voted to reopen the road at a meeting of the council's community development committee on July 14 - a decision subject to final approval at yesterday's full council meeting.
However, councillors at yesterday's meeting agreed to refer the matter back to the committee for further consideration, after a request from committee chairman Cr Paul Hudson.
The request came after a petition calling for the road to remain closed, signed by "several hundred people", was presented to last week's public forum, Cr Hudson said.
Speaking after yesterday's meeting, he said the committee would reconsider all options, including whether to keep the road closed permanently, reopen it as planned, or "a combination of the two".
"The option is still there for a total closure," he said.
Another suggestion being considered was to keep the road closed for pedestrian use on Sundays.
His committee had been given the authority to make a final decision, within the $120,000 budget already approved for work at the site, at the next committee meeting on September 1.
While calls to keep the road closed were not new, the petition gave the first indication of public support for a continued closure, he said.
The road was shut in 2006 to allow construction of the city's sewage outfall pipe.
It remained closed as evidence pointed to a reduction in suicides and an increase in wildlife activity.
However, a campaign to reopen the road also led to a protest at the gate last month, attended by 30 people, and a petition signed by 120 people.
At the July 14 meeting, councillors voted to reopen the road during daylight hours, with a 2.5m-high security fence to be installed at Lawyers Head.
