The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea approved plans to remove road kerbs and create a single level surface in Exhibition Road at a cabinet meeting last Friday.
The council says the GBP25 million project will improve access for many people including those using wheelchairs and pushchairs as well as the elderly and partially sighted.
It intends to remove kerbs and instead introduce a single surface with clear visual and tactile delineators that will distinguish between pedestrian areas and the carriageway.
Black cast iron drainage covers will line each side of the vehicle zone to visually separate pedestrian areas from moving traffic. And wide strips of corduroy tactile - ridged paving often used on the edge of steps - will be installed alongside the drainage gulley to alert blind people to the edge of the safe zone, the council said.
But a coalition of some 28 charities, including The Guide Dogs for the Blind Association, Leonard Cheshire Disability, Mencap and The National Federation of the Blind, say the plans represent a safety risk for people walking in London.
David Cowdrey, campaigns manager at The Guide Dogs for the Blind Association, said the design will affect not only the blind and partially sighted but those with learning difficulties, the young and the elderly.
He said: "The disabled, blind and partially sighted people, particularly guide dog owners and long cane users, are trained to use the kerb as a key navigation cue.
"Its removal, without a proven effective, alternative feature, exposes blind and partially sighted people to greater risk, undermines their confidence, and so creates a barrier to their independent mobility.
"We're talking about a very busy London street used by some 700 vehicles an hour according to the council. This sort of scheme may work in some countries but I think we have a more aggressive driving style here in the UK.
"The kerb is also vital for children's safety when using roads. From an early age children are taught as part of the Green Cross Code to Stop, Look, and Listen at kerbs. If these kerbs are removed, how will children know where to stop?"
Mrs Jill Allen-King, from The National Federation of the Blind, said people can not understand how frightening it is to walk in such street schemes until they have experienced it.
The 69-year-old, from Southend, who has been blind since the age of 24, said her experience of a shared street while on holiday in Rome last year left her frightened and disorientated.
The Exhibition Road scheme is intended to transform one of London's key visitor attractions into a more user-friendly space by the end of 2011, in time for the 2012 Olympic Games.
Councillor Nicholas Paget-Brown said: "We are committed to making Exhibition Road the most accessible cultural destination in the world, working with partners to create a safe, accessible and attractive space for all.
"It is our responsibility to consider all users of Exhibition Road and we believe that this project will substantially improve accessibility and safety for everyone.
"We acknowledge the specific concern of Guide Dogs and have significantly changed the initial design concept to include clear visual and tactile delineation between the pedestrian and vehicle zones. This will create safe zones for the blind and partially sighted, while ensuring that the street remains accessible to other users such as those using wheelchairs."
The council will carry out a further safety audit following its decision and is involved in ongoing research funded by Transport for London into delineation devices for single surface schemes, as part of its continued commitment to safety and accessibility.
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