A newly formed merchants group is calling SFMTA's decision to delay Ocean Avenue's transit-only red lanes a political calculation designed to protect the agency's November parcel tax — and is demanding the project be canceled outright before the election.

The accusation sharpens what has been a grinding fight over the $34 million K Ingleside Rapid project, which has been paused since December and now won't see red lane installation until early 2027. SFMTA, which desperately needs voter approval of its "Stronger Muni for All" parcel tax this fall to stay solvent, is now caught between the political cost of angering a corridor's worth of merchants and the operational cost of further delaying a safety project on one of the city's most dangerous streets.

More than 50 merchants and residents packed the side dining room of Golden Coast restaurant on Ocean Avenue on Monday evening to confront city officials over the SFMTA's proposed transit-only lanes — and to accuse the agency of strategic inaction.

The meeting, organized by a new Chinatown Merchants United of San Francisco chapter dedicated to the Ocean View-Merced Heights-Ingleside neighborhoods, drew representatives from Mayor Daniel Lurie's office, two district supervisors' offices, and an SFMTA board member. It did not produce any commitments.

"Please don't consider any tryout of [red lanes] next year," said Ed Siu, president of Chinatown Merchants United, according to The Ingleside Light, which was present. "I believe that it's only a tricky way to try to delay and get your [tax] passed in November. Our merchants won't allow it to happen."

Siu's charge is pointed: SFMTA announced last month that it was scaling back the lane plan from 1.1 miles to a handful of blocks and pushing installation to early 2027 — after Supervisors Myrna Melgar and Chyanne Chen held a pair of facilitated town halls that failed to produce consensus. The timing puts the project safely past the November election in which "Stronger Muni for All," the agency's parcel tax ballot measure, will go before voters. SFMTA needs those funds for operations.

Crystal Liang from Mayor Lurie's office told the assembled crowd that the K Ingleside Rapid project was approved before the mayor took office and that his staff was still learning about it — a response that satisfied no one in the room.

Mark Gin, who has owned Ocean Avenue print shop Copy Edge for 37 years and serves as a Chinatown Merchants United vice president, called for a meeting with SFMTA within 30 days to address next steps. He also took aim at the Ocean Avenue Association, the nonprofit charged by City Hall with corridor upkeep and outreach: "If OAA did the job and consultation with all the businesses over here, we won't have this meeting. OAA does not represent the businesses over here. They only do street cleaning."

Not everyone at the meeting opposed the lanes. Miles Escobedo, co-owner of Ocean Ale House, said he supports the project and asked officials pointed questions meant to surface useful information.

The red lanes — which need not actually be red, SFMTA says — are the centerpiece of a suite of improvements designed to speed up K-Line trains while also reducing dangerous driving on a corridor where two people were killed by drivers last year. The broader project was approved in March 2024. Most of its elements, including boarding island lengthening, were completed quietly. The lanes are the sticking point.

The political calculation may be moot if the money disappears. Proposed changes to California's cap-and-invest program could cut approximately $202 million from SFMTA's budget, with $55 million of that sum allocated specifically to the N-Judah and K-Ingleside projects. SFMTA spokesperson Michael Roccaforte told The Ingleside Light that the agency is still evaluating the impact and has other funding sources in mind.

"We'll be looking at our options to ensure we can deliver a project that supports a safe and vibrant Ocean Avenue, and will bring updates to the community should there be any changes," Roccaforte said.

What the merchants' escalation means for the November ballot measure is unclear. But Chinatown Merchants United's decision to organize a dedicated OMI chapter around this fight — and to explicitly frame the delay as a political trade-off — marks a new phase in a conflict that has already outlasted one set of town halls and one indefinite pause.