Construction work on stage two of the lakefront redevelopment, where the 650m, 2000-tile path lies, is scheduled to begin in six weeks.
The Queenstown Lakes District Council has declined requests from the Otago Daily Times for the stage two plan, which is not yet finished.
In a statement, parks and reserves officer Maddy Dowman said the council was "currently working with'' the Wanaka Community Board to identify the best option for the path.
"Detailed designs for stage two of the plan - the area from the new Mt Aspiring Rd car park to Dungarvon St - will be unveiled in the next few weeks, and will show how we propose to integrate a meandering pathway concept.''
It is more than three years since the council commissioned Auckland landscape architect Garth Falconer to produce options for the $6million lakefront redevelopment.
Upper Clutha resident Graham Taylor, who helped create the path, says it was his understanding the tiles were to be retained in the new design.
"I met with the consultants in May 2016; assurances were asked for and given.
"After nearly 20 years in existence and creating considerable interest they are to be destroyed and replaced by something else.
"The whole affair is greatly disturbing.''
Councillor and board chairman Quentin Smith told the ODT yesterday the board agreed the pathway was ``an important feature of the lake front''.
"But it has some challenges in that the current one is in a significant state of disrepair.''
He estimated 20% of the tiles were cracked, faded or missing.
"We're quite conscious of that and we're also conscious that the track in its current location doesn't meet the needs of the proposed design.
"So it might not be sufficient just to leave it in its current position because it doesn't match the rest of the design.''
Mr Taylor believed the path could remain where it was.
"A capable designer would be able and willing to incorporate such a feature as promised at the time, and was until recently featured in the plan that we submitted to.''
Mr Smith acknowledged the work of those involved with the original project and said the council was "trying to find a way'' to integrate the path into the new design.
One of the problems was the tiles were likely to break while being shifted.
Mr Smith said he hoped to be able to provide the ODT with a copy of the "working plan'' for stage two later this week.
It is believed to include a new, four-metre wide path nearer to the lake, stretching from the new lakefront car park to the town centre.
