Responding to Ballarat councillor and former mayor Mark Harris who derided the contentious plans this week, Ms Pulford said the bike paths were an integral part of allowing Ballarat to grow and returning foot and pedal traffic to the CBD.

Cr Harris, mayor from 2011 to 2012, said this week the gardens were an important part of Ballarat, and he failed to see the benefit of the paths shown in concept art designs which have been released publicly and remain open for consultation.

YOUR SAY: Plans for Sturt Street bike paths divide readers

"We're conscious of its heritage, its symmetry, its beauty, really - and it's a fundamental part of what Ballarat is, it's our great boulevard and we don't want to see it mucked up," he said.

However, Ms Pulford said her understanding was that the majority of council supported the plans.

"My sense is the prevailing view at Ballarat City Council is that we need infrastructure for people who are walking, for people that are on bikes," she said.

"Ballarat's population is growing and we aren't well served for walking and cycling paths through that part of town.

"This project has been in works for a long time now. There was an initial design that was not right and we had Regional Roads Victoria go back to the drawing board.

"Of course heritage considerations are absolutely in our mind regarding the proposed design.

"But I've seen the design as lots of people in the community have and I think it looks beautiful, it really adds to that exquisite boulevard we have."

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