Riders push up the first climb out of Ship Cove at the northern end of the Queen Charlotte Track.

A popular Marlborough Sounds track could be in danger of losing its Great Ride status because it is too steep in sections.

Queen Charlotte Track Trust chairman Rob Burn said the trust had requested council funding to reduce the steep sections and broaden the track's appeal.

Upgrading and re-routing unrideable parts of the track would lure in more mature cyclists, who stayed longer and spent more tourism dollars, Burn said.

"You have to be living under a rock not to know cycling as a past-time has become a phenomenon.

READ MORE:

* Queen Charlotte Track gets global exposure

* Queen Charlotte walk perfect for the family

"Queen Charlotte Track should be in the top three rides in New Zealand but it isn't because 10 per cent of the track is considered unrideable."

The Department of Conservation outlined in its 10-year plan proposals to reroute sections of the track and make it an easier grade.

The Marlborough District Council budgeted $290,000 for the work over three years in its draft annual plan last week subject to council being satisfied with project costs and consultation with residents.

The council would make a final decision on the funding after a public consultation with ratepayers.

The track launched as one of 23 Great Rides that comprise the New Zealand Cycle Trails in 2013.

The track was competing against other Great Rides across New Zealand, Burn said.

"We could lose our Great Ride status if we don't get the council funding," he said.

However, a group of nine accommodation providers want the track closed to cyclists between Ship Cove and Camp Bay from late September to early April.

Group spokesman Rod Burgoyne​ said the number of bikes had increased and cycleways had become the Prime Minister's "pet project".

There was a strong probability the number of bikers on the track was already having a negative impact on the number of hikers, he said.

"Walkers and bikers don't mix.

"The anecdotal evidence indicates hikers do not complain readily, they simply vote with their feet. That is, one bad experience on a track with bikers on it and hikers will simply not use another dual purpose track, particularly when there are options such as the Abel Tasman and Heaphy Tracks so close by."

The track was their footpath to walk to neighbouring properties but some bikers treated it like completing a time trial, he said.

An estimated 6000 to 8000 walkers a year walked the length of the Queen Charlotte Track and up to 20,000 did day walks, Burn said.

Track users had dwindled since the global financial crisis, he said.

But less walkers was not down town to conflict between walkers and bikers, Burn said.

"Conflict between walkers and cyclists is more of a perception than a reality. We trawled more than 300 TripAdvisor reviews of Queen Charlotte Track and not one referred to any conflict."

The track had a cycling code in place.

"There needs to be an acceptance between walkers and cyclists that it is a shared space."

Upgrading the track would make it safer and a more pleasant ride, he said.

"Because the track is quite difficult we attract the hard-core bikers who blast straight through on one day."

Upgrading the track would benefit walkers and attract more mature cyclists who cycled for shorter distances and stopped at track-side accommodation, he said.

The average user of the New Zealand Cycle Trails network was 55-years-old and considered a high-value visitor by Tourism NZ, staying longer and spending more than average, a council report said.

Research commissioned by NZCT showed visitors using cycle trails were staying one to three nights and spending between $131 and $176 a day per person.