Hawke's Bay locals will have to wait until February before knowing if a track up the eastern side of Te Mata Peak is possible.
The Hastings District Council urgently completed remedial work on the former Craggy Range walking track at a cost of nearly $70,000.
The recommendation came after a report exposed the potential risk of death, on the top 500 metres, for people set on walking the closed track.
The work was meant to restore the track to its original landscape as much as possible, the council's acting chief executive Neil Taylor said.
"Which, unfortunately, couldn't be completed without some top surface treatment, which will be temporary," he said.
"That involved quite a lot of coconut core matting which reduces the incidence of wind erosion but allows grass to grow through it."
The top section of the former track was too dangerous to develop in the future, Taylor said.
It has been a year since the controversial track was built and shut down after it was clear there was no iwi consultation.
Local Waimarama kaumatua Robert Macdonald said he still found the eyesore "offensive".
"While the track is there a lot of people are still looking forward to another season of protests," he said.
"It was an issue surrounding respect - respect for the area, respect for the landscape, respect for the ancestor."
The council said a reference group was considering options to be put to the public as early as February next year.
"It may involve no track or no tracks," he said.
"It may involve options of tracks."
But for Matua Robert, he said there would be no discussion from his point of view until the scars of the previous track had healed.
The peak has more than 30 kilometres of walking and mountain bike tracks but none on the eastern side.
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