Resident Mark Gardiner began the campaign in 2006 and hoped council would kick-start the project with some of the $159,000 infrastructure funds received last Friday.

“We held a public meeting in 2008 and had over 10 per cent of the town sign a petition,” Mr Gardiner said.

Little has been done since and Mr Gardiner’s patience for the project is waning.

“I was told it will take you years,” he said.

But with infrastructure funding flowing into the shire Mr Gardiner said now

was the ideal time to revisit the project.

“Money has always been the problem,” he said.

Mr Gardiner said a number of clubs, organisations and individuals have supported the project but it still needs to be mapped and costed before it can progress.

Fellow committee member Brian Stone and Mr Gardiner addressed council in open forum in June.

They spoke on the community benefits of a multi-purpose path and requested the support of council with assistance with grant applications, planning, surveying and possibly insurance.

“There’s a safety issue too,” he said.

“So many children ride their bikes along the side of the road to go to the river in the summer and cars don’t slow down.”

Council was generally supportive of the plan and Mayor Vin Good suggested it might be something that could be tackled in stages.

“If we don’t do it another council will and it will be a coastal town that want to attract people,” Mr Gardiner said.

“If we want to attract people to Cooma we need to bite the bullet and do this.”