The suggestion was made in a police submission on the council's review of its policy on commercial use of footpaths, which has attracted 16 submissions, to be considered at a hearings subcommittee meeting on Thursday.
Dunedin city council staff agree that removing street furniture would go "a long way" towards alleviating the issue after midnight of pedestrians spilling from obstructed footpaths on to the carriageway, where they could be struck by passing vehicles.
Sergeant Ian Paulin, for the police, also suggested Octagon premises be required to submit a plan for dealing with queues that blocked the pedestrian corridor, before they were permitted to use the footpath for tables and chairs, but staff advised that would be dealt with as part of the pending local alcohol policy.
The council's commercial use of footpaths policy is being reviewed for the first time since it was introduced in 2005.
Since then, signs, tables, chairs and other objects had increased significantly, council development services manager Kevin Thompson's report to the subcommittee said.
The review more clearly defines what those objects are and where they cannot be placed.
Among other things, the draft policy introduces maximum heights for signs, limits premises to one sign, bans flags and banners, restricts screen/barrier colours to black, andrequires a 1.2m-wide pedestrian corridor be kept free of street furniture.
It also bans commercial footpath advertising in Dunedin, whether simple chalk messages or a recently employed stencil-and-waterblaster method - a proposal which is opposed by several submitters, including the Otago Chamber of Commerce, which said it could be beneficial for certain events.
A proposal to ban advertising on barriers, umbrellas and heaters, was deleted from the latest draft of the proposed policy, after significant opposition.
Submitters also questioned the proposal to maintain limits at four chairs per table and continue the requirement for all patrons in an extended area to be seated. Some submitters wanted seating to be smoke-free, while others were mainly concerned that the pedestrian corridor remained wide enough and free of obstacles so that all pedestrians, including those who used mobility scooters or wheelchairs, could pass through with ease.
Submissions on the policy came from a range of sources, from people with disabilities, to police, retailers, licensed premises, advertisers and the general public.
Eight of the submitters will speak to their submissions.
