Debate over John Wilson Ocean Dr appears set to resume when Dunedin city councillors today consider a reduced speed limit for the road.
A report by council staff concludes motorists are travelling too fast, and the interim 50kmh speed limit is too high.
However, the report recommends the speed limit be reduced to 30kmh, not the 20kmh ''goal'' set by councillors late last year.
The extra 10kmh meant the council would avoid the need to spend nearly $100,000 improving the road to make it safe for motorists and pedestrians.
The details will be considered by councillors at today's planning and environment committee, and are the latest twist in a debate that has been dragging on since the road was first closed to vehicles in 2006.
Councillors voted in December to reopen the road to motorists during set hours on weekdays, but with an interim speed limit for motorists of 50kmh. The goal was to eventually lower the speed limit to 20kmh if community support could be found to provide traffic-calming measures.
If that goal was not achieved by May 1, council staff were to report back on whether the 50kmh speed limit should become permanent.
The report by council senior traffic engineer Ron Minnema, to be considered today, said the community initiatives hoped for had not yet come to fruition.
That was despite ''strong support'' from the John Wilson Promenaders group for landscaping improvements in the area, to be delivered at no cost to the council, he said.
The improvements proposed by the group might help lower vehicle speeds, but that would not be their primary purpose, Mr Minnema said.
That still left the council with a bill for traffic-calming measures estimated at $94,000, to make the road suitable for a 20kmh speed limit, he said.
A traffic survey carried out between February 26 and March 6 showed vehicles were travelling at speeds suitable for a 30kmh speed limit zone, rather than the 20kmh goal, he said.
The survey found 160 vehicles visited the area each day, travelling at an average speed of 33.6kmh and 85% at less than 40kmh.
However, each day 25 vehicles were found to be travelling above 40kmh, and two above 50kmh, the results showed.
Mr Minnema said the results showed a 50kmh limit was not appropriate, but a 30kmh limit was.
A person struck by a vehicle travelling at 30kmh had a 10% chance of dying, which dropped to 5% for a vehicle travelling at 20kmh.
If the council proceeded with a 20kmh limit, and the costs that came with it, improvements would include 5m-wide carriageways with one-way slow points, a 4m-wide shared path and other features to make the area ''not look like a road''.
