The council has said it did "extensive community engagement" regarding the project in 2019, but Beckwith Street resident Eric Board claims the first he heard of it was when he got a letter in the mail on Friday.

The letter told residents that work on their street would begin in mid-March.

The letter also revealed design plans for a 2.5 metre share cycle path bordered by a rubber barrier to be built along Beckwith, Norman and Trevor streets as part of a planned 56-kilometre network.

Mr Board said what really infuriated him was the placement of the cycle path, which will be wedged in-between the nature strip on one side and parking spaces on the other.

He said it made him fear for the safety of his 90-year-old mother and his 1 and 4-year-old grandchildren who would need to cross the cycle path whenever entering or exiting their car.

READ MORE:

"We're not opposed to cycling tracks, but common sense and logic would tell us the best thing to do is to have the cars parked where you can safely alight to the nature strip," Mr Board said.

"This has been fast-tracked through, clearly, without proper consultation."

Mr Board has "instigated" the rest of the neighbourhood to send letters of complaint to council, one of whom is retired detective inspector Grahame Winson.

Mr Winson said he foresaw "horrendous" legal consequences due to injuries caused by the cycle path.

"Passengers, especially children, opening their nearside car doors into the path of a cyclist streaming along the shared pathways pose a real threat, to both the cyclist and the passenger concerned," Mr Winson said.

Another complainant is Karen Smith, who said her very elderly mother would be put in harm's way by such a cyclepath design.

She said she was outraged that nearby residents had not been told about the plans more clearly.

"I am disappointed that in this day and age, transparency and lack of consultation with residents is an issue that I have to identify for my community," she said.

Council strategic asset planner Ben Creighton said they'd already gone through an "extensive" consultation process with residents during the design stage.

"[Council] undertook extensive community engagement regarding the Active Travel Plan routes in 2019 before the route was finalised. We acted on the community's feedback, shaping the route to achieve the final design," Mr Creighton said.

"We are following industry best-practice regarding the shared path infrastructure, which specifies the need to physically separate cyclists and other path users from moving vehicles.

"This is why we are installing the shared path beside the kerb, the safest place for cyclists and other shared-path users such as runners, with car parking alongside, separated by a rubber barrier."

Construction is due to begin in Beckwith Street, Norman Street, and Trevor Street in the coming weeks, with more to follow.