San Francisco has been told to hit the brakes on marking those red, transit-only lanes along Geary Boulevard after two brothers who own a gas station on the street busted the city for failing to follow federal guidelines.

The red lanes, which are open to buses and taxis only, have been laid down on a number of major corridors in recent years. They are part of a federal pilot program aimed at speeding up bus times and easing congestion.

The lanes are a hit at City Hall, but merchants often complain that they scare off customers.

“Traffic is mandated to stay out of the red lane. So drivers will either be forced to make illegal and unsafe turns into businesses along the boulevard, or bypass us and find a different business for their needs,” said Corey Urban, who along with his brother, Glenn Urban, owns the Shell gas station and car wash at Geary and Cook Street.

The brothers weren’t happy to learn that the city was planning to lay down 1.75 miles of red lanes in each direction along Geary from Gough to Stanyan, a stretch that includes their gas station.

When the city ignored their concerns, the Urbans started digging through federal regulations for the red-lane program.

They discovered that the city was supposed to be gathering data on transit times in existing lanes before slapping down the red paint, something the Municipal Transportation Agency wasn’t doing.

“For over three years, the SFMTA has just kicked our butt over this red lane stuff by not listening,” Glenn Urban said.

So the Urbans complained to the feds, who ordered the city last year to put the red paint on the shelf until it complies with the rules.

Paul Rose, a spokesman for the transportation agency, called the whole thing a misunderstanding between the city and Washington.

Whatever the case, there’s no red paint being slapped down in front of the Urbans’ gas station and no plans for additional transit-only lanes in the city until next year.

In fact, the city says it will redesign the lane in front of the brothers’ gas pumps to clarify that cars can turn in and out of the station.

Pinch hitter: Former Oakland City Manager Henry Gardner has been tapped to be the interim Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Authority CEO and executive director to replace Scott McKibben, who abruptly resigned Friday amid questions about a possible conflict of interest in the awarding of a multimillion-dollar stadium naming rights contract.

Gardner is a bit of a legend in East Bay government circles, having worked as Oakland city manager from 1981 to 1993, deputy executive director of the Association of Bay Area Governments from 2003 to 2005 and as that group’s executive director from 2005 to 2010.

In 2014, Gardner returned to Oakland as interim city administrator after the exit of City Administrator Deanna Santana and the departure a month later of her replacement, Fred Blackwell.

Gardner’s new job comes just two weeks after he was appointed interim manager for the city of Richmond following the firing of City Manager Carlos Martinez.

“We got Henry to come in for a couple of weeks. He told us he had a gig coming up, but couldn’t say what it was at the time,” said Richmond Mayor Tom Butt.

“But he gave us some breathing room,” Butt said.

Alameda County Supervisor Nate Miley, a member of the Coliseum authority, called Gardner a “very stable and solid professional, who has both the expertise and institutional knowledge” to manage the Coliseum property.

”We know him well and are very comfortable with him,” Miley said.

No word on how the authority plans to select a permanent replacement.

Gardner takes the helm of the 155-acre stadium and arena complex at a time of great uncertainty for the Coliseum Authority.

The Golden State Warriors have left for San Francisco. The Oakland Raiders are in their final season before moving to their new digs in Las Vegas, and the Oakland A’s are looking to build a waterfront ballpark at Howard Terminal.

San Francisco Chronicle columnist Phil Matier appears Sundays and Wednesdays. Matier can be seen on the KPIX-TV morning and evening news. He can also be heard on KCBS radio Monday through Friday at 7:50 a.m. and 5:50 p.m. Got a tip? Call 415-777-8815, or email pmatier@sfchronicle.com. Twitter: @philmatier