4-block Red Lane pilot project on Ocean Avenue presented, local merchants and residents oppose and ask for an immediate halt

SAN FRANCISCO — The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) presented its pilot program—a four-block Red Public Transit-only Lane along the Ocean Avenue business corridor—to merchants. Local Asian merchants and residents opposed the pilot program and requested its permanent suspension during a community meeting hosted by the Asian community.

Mike Chen, the only Chinese American member on the SFMTA Board of Directors, announced the four-block pilot program at the community meeting on June 15. Chen was first appointed by former Mayor London Breed to the SFMTA Board in September 2024 and re-appointed by Mayor Daniel Lurie in May 2025.

The four blocks on Ocean Avenue designated for the pilot program, set for early 2027 implementation, are the two blocks between Lee and Plymouth Avenues on the east side of the corridor where a McDonald's fast-food restaurant is located, and the two blocks between San Leandro Way and Junipero Serra Boulevard on the west end.

Chen attended the June 15 community meeting which was co-hosted by the newly-established Asian Merchants Group and the Merchants United Association of San Francisco. After Chen announced the 2027 pilot plan to implement the four-block Red Lane program, Chinese American merchants and residents in the meeting argued that the pilot would worsen current traffic jams on the busiest section of Ocean Avenue.

The Asian Merchants Group (AMG) represents Chinese and Asian merchants locally along the Ocean Avenue corridor. The Merchants United Association of San Francisco was founded by Ed Siu in 2020, basing it in Chinatown and expanding to the Sunset District in 2022 and Ocean Avenue corridor in 2026 respectively.

The controversial Red Transit-only Lane program under the K Ingleside Rapid Project, which was launched by District 7 Supervisor Myrna Melgar in 2021 and has been managed by the SFMTA, has been strongly opposed by Chinese American merchants and residents locally and citywide based on a number of factors, traffic jams, safety to residents and pedestrians, business survival, delay of commute hours and more.

The SFMTA originally scheduled the installation of the new "Public Transit-Only" lanes for January 2026. Merchants organized a "No Red Lanes on Ocean Avenue" campaign against the project. On January 13, 2026, the SFMTA announced a temporary pause in the project's implementation for further discussions with residents and businesses in the neighborhoods. 

As a result, the SFMTA, Supervisors Melgar and Chyanne Chen (who represents District 11), and the Ocean Avenue Association had co-hosted two town hall meetings on April 11 and May 4 focusing on the proposed Ocean Avenue Red Lane Project.

Public transit riders spoke out in both meetings to support the transit-only project along the Ocean Avenue. They supported making K-train service faster and more efficient. They also believed that the transit-only lane would be safer for pedestrians.

Merchant members of the Asian Merchants Group told Wind Newspaper that the City failed to consider their concerns regarding the Red Lane project. They wanted to be more proactive by holding their own community meeting and inviting all related city agencies and representatives to be present to listen.

The meeting was held at the Golden Coast Restaurant on June 15. Mayor Lurie and Supervisor Melgar did not attend the meeting. Attendees included Supervisor Chen, Lurie's Community Liaisons Crystal Liang and Ed Jones, SFMTA Board of Directors member Mike Chen, K-Ingleside Rapid Project Manager Anna Harman and Community Liaison Jessie Liang.

Several dozen residents of all ages and merchants participated in the meeting carrying signs that read, "No Red Lanes on Ocean Avenue". Merchants from Chinatown and the Sunset District joined the meeting to show their support. Some merchants in Chinatown are residents of the surrounding neighborhoods along the Ocean Avenue corridor.

Robert Ho: The City did not listen to us

Robert Ho, a local resident in the district for over three decades, said the City did not truly listen to the community.

“The first town hall meeting was held on a Saturday morning, April 11, which prevented many merchants from participating due to their busy weekend business,” said Ho. “More merchants attended the second town hall meeting on Monday evening, May 4.”

"When we wanted to speak in the second meeting, the SFMTA had already presented its latest plan there," said Ho. "How did the City hear our voices?"

Ho said it was not only merchants against the Red Lane on Ocean Avenue. As a longtime resident, he viewed the project as a waste of public funds. It would slow down all traffic except for K trains, make neighborhoods unsafe for pedestrians and residents when congestion concentrates in one lane, and force drivers to divert routes into local residential areas. Ultimately it would hurt local small businesses with traffic jams.

Mark Gin: The 2-block pilot creates more severe traffic congestion

"We never asked for that. We never received notice of what is going on. But now it is a done deal," said Mark Gin, Chair of the Asian Merchants Group, who has owned the Copy Edge printing company on Ocean Avenue for 37 years and lived in San Francisco since age 9.

Gin said the four-block pilot program which caused more traffic gridlock would hurt everyone, especially the two-block Red Lane on the east side of the Ocean Avenue corridor between the Lee and Plymouth Avenues.

"It will create more traffic jams on that two-block section of Ocean Avenue between Lee and Plymouth," said Gin.

Currently when motorists exit the 280 freeway onto Ocean Avenue and drive alongside the City College's Wellness Center, vehicles must merge from two lanes into one. This traffic jams cause gridlocks extending for miles onto the 280 freeway exit ramp during evening commute hours. The situation is expected to worsen significantly if a Red Lane is added across the two blocks between Lee and Plymouth Avenues on Ocean Avenue. Only one lane will be available for vehicles to drive through those two blocks.

After implementing the future Red Lane project in 2027 on the two-lane Ocean Avenue, motorists needing to exit the single remaining jammed lane in each direction will drive onto side streets, increasing vehicle traffic in nearby neighborhoods. Residents said the Red Lane project will endanger the neighborhoods.

Besides the traffic and safety issues, local residents and merchants said the Red Lane project will generate more revenue for the City by issuing citations to drivers who enter the transit-only lanes along Ocean Avenue. However, according to their remarks in the meeting, this extra revenue unfairly comes from local residents and merchants who suffer from the Red Lanes and also have a greater chance of being cited for traffic tickets if they drive into the Red Lanes.

Ed Siu: SFMTA needs to permanently suspend the Red Lane project before November election

Ed Siu, Founder and President of the Merchants United Association of San Francisco, urged the SFMTA to permanently suspend the Transit-only Lane Project on Ocean Avenue before the November election.

Siu questioned the SFMTA's delay of the Red Lanes Project until 2027, suggesting the intention was to help pass the Stronger Muni For All initiative in the upcoming November election to secure more funds for the agency.

The Stronger Muni for All initiative backed by Mayor Lurie has qualified for the November 2026 election, where San Francisco voters will approve it. The ballot measure also named Parcel Tax to Fund Public Transportation proposes a tiered parcel tax on commercial and residential properties that would raise approximately $160 million annually to secure dedicated funding for San Francisco's public transit system. Under the proposal, 95% of single-family homeowners would pay a flat $129 annually, with larger homes subject to progressively higher rates. The largest commercial properties would pay up to $400,000 annually.

Mike Chen: SFMTA will evaluate the impacts and make decisions based on the pilot program

The SFMTA Board of Directors approved the original K- Ingleside Rapid Project, which included the Transit-only lanes project, prior to Mike Chen being appointed to the Board. "The original plan scheduled for this year is no longer happening," Mike Chen told the audience in the meeting when he announced the four-block pilot program on Ocean Avenue.

"There were a lot of conversations before I joined the Board," said Mike Chen. "We are working with merchants to do the pilot program next year. The priority now is safety and parking improvements."

"It will be a pilot on the four blocks of Ocean Avenue next year," Mike Chen emphasized. "We are going to see how the changes impact the traffic. We will come back and try to make a decision from that."