HB 2156/SB 2243 will take Nashville and its metropolitan area down the same road as mass transit in Atlanta.
When the Metro Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) was proposed to create light rail, Georgia state government, led by Gov. Lester Maddox, introduced several key pieces of legislation to sabotage it.
One can see similarities in Tennessee. The state not being able to provide funding for the project is a valid issue, but having the state legislature determine how a community plans infrastructure is big government overreach.
The anti-Amp comments I hear on television from our legislative leaders sound very much like those from Lester Maddox. More than 40 years later, Atlanta's inadequate mass transit and infrastructure are costing Georgia jobs.
Nashville, Middle Tennessee and the Tennessee Department of Transportation are already well behind the curve for mass transit. If any legislator or citizen needs to see an example of a failed mass transit policy, then please drive down to Atlanta.