Board chairman Quentin Smith said yesterday he would be receiving the petition just before a board workshop discusses whether the 650m, 2000-tile path should be preserved or not, and if so, how.
The path notes significant events in history and was a community project to mark the millennium.
A group of residents concerned it might be scrapped have collected the signatures, mostly from local people, in just over a week.
Initially, they planned to present the petition to the board at its workshop and hoped to stay to listen to the discussion, but the workshop is closed to the public.
Under the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987, meetings where decisions are not made do not have to be open to the public, and under Queenstown Lakes District Council standing orders, workshops ``can be either open to the public or public excluded''.
Mr Smith told the Otago Daily Times yesterday he was happy to accept the petition, but not inside the closed workshop.
"We need to be able to have free and frank discussions on a range of issues.''
Mr Smith said as well as community board members, the workshop would be attended by council staff and Auckland landscape architect Garth Falconer, who was commissioned by the council three years ago to produce options for the $6 million lakefront redevelopment.
Stage one, a new car park, has been completed.
The plan for stage two or "South Beach'', from the car park to the Wanaka CBD, has not yet been released publicly.
Construction is scheduled to begin next month.
In his August 2016 concept plan for the area, where most of the path lies, Mr Falconer noted it contained "no sense of heritage''.
He suggested an esplanade, more trees, a wider footpath, a sculpture trail, "introduce signage and heritage'', "introduce Maori presence and history'', reorganise parking and "rejuvenate'' the millennium path.
Mr Smith said a statement would be released after the workshop.
