Jeweller Brent Weatherall is over the moon at the response his petition has had so far. PHOTO: GREGOR RICHARDSON

Several thousand people have signed their names to a campaign to keep Dunedin’s main shopping drag as it is.

George St jeweller Brent Weatherall has been leading the charge against a proposal to make the street one-way, going as far as launching a petition that has been displayed in about 40 centre city businesses.

Saturday marked the end of the petition’s first week on shop counters, and Mr Weatherall said the response had been beyond his wildest dreams.

"It’s blown me away," he said.

"The amount of support out there for retaining the status quo is heartening for me, because I’m on that side of the fence."

People had also been dropping in pages of signatures, or sending them to him in the post.

He believed 90% of the people coming into his shop were signing it.

A preliminary plan approved by the Dunedin City Council earlier this year includes turning George St from Moray Pl — past the Octagon — to Frederick St into a southbound one-way street. It is part of a planned $60million upgrade of the central city.

Mr Weatherall has been a vocal opponent of the plan, arguing that it would be "catastrophic" for businesses.

The petition will be delivered to the council at the end of January.

Dunedin Mayor Aaron Hawkins has urged people to take part in a public consultation period expected to start early next year.