The direction of St John's Wood's one-way High Street could be reversed despite Westminster's own highway officer saying as recently as April that northbound traffic was preferable.
Westminster Council has opened a second consultation over planned changes to the centre of St John's Wood including permanently widened pavements for alfresco dining and reversing the one-way traffic system.
While several retailers would prefer to see two-way traffic reinstated with parking bays for shoppers, Westminster City Council is consulting only on a one-way system.
Sachin Patel, of Safarian & Simon Opticians, said the council's one-way traffic reversal to go southbound is "flawed".
In an email in April from Simon Morgan, Westminster's programme assurance manager for highways and public realm, said that Westminster chose the one-way northbound as access routes to the street were "less circuitous and are generally on main roads rather than residential streets".
"If it were southbound, the prohibited right turning movements from Wellington Road into Acacia Road and Circus Road would create convoluted routes for those accessing the street from the south," he wrote.
"This helps keep traffic off residential streets better than southbound traffic."
Sachin said: "For many months when they were planning this they said their traffic report decided the street should go in one direction then overnight they were able to change in the opposite direction so they went against their traffic reports. It's clearly a flawed report."
He also said parking lost on the high street "will be in parking bays outside residents' homes instead".
"It's not a good scheme," he said. "So many people complain the High Street is dying not realising this will make it die even more.
"Westminster are telling residents all the good stuff, like Brexit, and not saying what the negatives are. It's a flawed scheme."
Cllr Paul Dimoldenberg, Labour cabinet member for city management and air quality, said the overall project was supported by "the majority of residents" in the first consultation – with 87% in support of alfresco dining.
He added: "The current one-way northbound was one of main objections we received from traders in the last consultation.
"There is no right or wrong way for the traffic to go, it could go either way, and we have changed it to southbound as a direct response of the comments."
The consultation is open until October 19.
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