Ingleside Merchants Sound Off On Ocean Avenue Red Lanes

About two dozen small business owners, their employees and the public gathered at Golden Coast Restaurant on Thursday afternoon to communicate with San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency staff about the forthcoming red lanes on Ingleside’s Ocean Avenue.

The meeting, organized by the Ocean Avenue Association, occurred just weeks before the anticipated start date for the K Ingleside Rapid project’s most critical component was to begin — and nearly two years after the project had been formally approved.

Several parts of the $34.2 million project have been completed, such as boarding island upgrades, stop removals, parking changes and better-timed traffic signals. The work is intended to improve the speed and reliability of the historic K-Ingleside light rail line, which had 13,000 boardings in November. Red lanes, transit officials believe, are the most significant measure for meeting those goals.

For years, Ocean Avenue has been deemed dangerous. Two people died in traffic crashes this year. SFMTA experts believe that the red lanes will make traffic flow at a safer speed and reduce deaths and serious injuries.

Despite the potential benefits, some merchants expressed concern that the red lanes would negatively impact their businesses by shunting traffic to other streets like Monterey Boulevard.

“We love safety,” said Ocean Avenue Association Board Chair Kath Tsakalakis during her opening remarks. “We love the train. We want everyone to move efficiently and swiftly along Ocean Avenue. We want to support the businesses who have their homes here.”

Little Panda Preschool Operations Manager Tony Ng accused the SFMTA of forcing small businesses out of business with its long-running projects, specifically in the Sunset-Parkside during the L-Taraval Improvement Project.

“You guys have done nothing but destroy businesses," Ng said. “Yes, I believe the riders also have their equality or equity in speedy transportation, but that’s not the case with having a red line.”

SFMTA Principal Transportation Planner Anna Harkman was optimistic despite the negative feedback and made it clear that drivers are allowed to temporarily enter the red lanes to get around obstacles.

“We understand that it’s a very big change,” Harkman said. “We are committed to ensuring that Ocean continues to operate and function, [and] run smoothly. Although it will be slower, we believe it will be much safer. We do believe it will be fully functional. We don’t believe that vehicles will go elsewhere.”

Eliseana Hernandez, a City College of San Francisco student, said the K-Line’s ridership levels weren’t worthy of the investment, unlike many bus lines, and urged staff to help the small business owners.

“The buses are full, but the trains are not that full, and so doing all this work just for a train to have more traction,” Hernandez said.

Several meeting participants said the transportation agency’s outreach efforts missed them entirely.

“I did not receive one single thing,” Phở Hà Tiên owner Steve Cheng said. “Maybe you sent it to the building owner, but the building owner doesn't come to us and say, ‘Hey, you know, I got this, can you read this, do you agree or whatnot?’”

The SFMTA conducted surveys, sent informational postcards and went door-to-door to speak about the project proposal. The transportation agency held a virtual hearing.

Some attendees proposed organizing to overturn the red lanes’ approval. Clearpoint Real Estate’s Julien Goavec suggested starting a petition and enlisting the help of District 7 Supervisor Myrna Melgar and District 11 Supervisor Chyanne Chen.

One merchant feared the red lanes would cause storefront vacancies and wanted to find a way to work with the SFMTA to improve the avenue.

“We don’t want to see any more vacancies,” Kushology co-owner Tyler Makras said. “It’s hard enough getting people to Ocean Avenue. Let’s not restrict it. This has been a sort of us versus you guys. Let’s work together to make Ocean Avenue a better place where more people want to come and visit. Where it’s more accessible, not less.”

Jen Low, Melgar’s legislative aide, said the project would not begin at the agency’s proposed date of Jan. 12, given merchant concerns. District 11 Supervisor Chyanne Chen, who was sworn into office the year after the red lanes were approved, asked SFMTA staff to be clear on timelines and expectations to avoid lengthy construction.

“I want to make sure everyone feels safe, meaning safer streets for everyone,” Chen said. “At the same time, I want to make sure that our small businesses are thriving in San Francisco. This is also my priority in District 11.”

SFMTA Muni Forward Transit Planner Michael Rhodes said they did not want to rush the project and would conduct more outreach, including going door-to-door.

“My hope is to still be able to advance a project that improves safety and improves reliability for transit,” Rhodes said. “At this point, it’s not something that needs to happen overnight. I can’t answer you right now what’s the next immediate step, because we need to go back and talk to folks, but I want you to know we hear you.”