Councillors at yesterday's infrastructure services committee meeting voted in favour of progressing minor safety improvements - including signs and road markings - in response to long-running concerns about safety on the East Taieri road.
The work would begin immediately and be paid for from within existing budgets, councillors heard.
However, plans for a larger upgrade of the road to accommodate heavy vehicles and other road users, including pedestrians and cyclists, would have to be reassessed to fit the findings of a recently completed safety audit, councillors heard.
Committee chairman Andrew Noone said it was important "to get runs on the board in terms of improving safety" by starting work on minor improvements immediately.
The progress came as councillors yesterday considered the results of the safety audit, which found Riccarton Rd's narrow width and lack of road shoulders threatened the safety of cyclists and pedestrians.
The findings prompted council senior traffic engineer Bruce Conaghan to recommend - in a report at yesterday's meeting - that land be designated to allow for road widening in the future.
That was despite some community opposition led by Riccarton Rd Action Group - which has threatened to take the matter to the Environment Court - and the Riccarton Rd West Safety Society. Both groups wanted the road made safer by removing its heavy traffic.
Yesterday, Dave Cull said there was a "contradiction" in the safety audit and report, which identified hazards on the road - such as culverts and unprotected bridge ends - that conflicted with faster-moving vehicles, yet found the road's 80kmh speed limit was "appropriate".
"I would have thought the obvious way to deal with it ... is just to cut the speed," Cr Cull said.
However, Mr Conaghan said there was a defined procedure for setting speed limits, and motorists had a legal obligation to drive at an appropriate speed - not necessarily the 80kmh "maximum" on Riccarton Rd.
"A better approach would be to provide a wider carriageway through there. That will actually accommodate the use through there and address the underlying safety issues," he said.
Riccarton Rd would also be part of a planned speed limit review encompassing 35 city streets, expected to take place in June, he said.
Teresa Stevenson expressed concern at the wording of the council's report, which recommended work on a bridal path "as demand necessitates its construction", suggested councillors were backing away from the project.
However, Cr Noone said the plans were a work in progress.
As well as beginning minor work immediately, councillors voted to review the designs, timing and funding for the Riccarton Rd upgrade in light of the findings of the safety audit.
Copies of the audit and yesterday's report would also be circulated to the Mosgiel Taieri Community Board and public lobby groups.
