Amp opponents, supporters react to Dean's pause on project

For months, Richard Fulton had been asking for Mayor Karl Dean to step away from the Amp and conduct a larger regional transit plan.

On Tuesday, Fulton and other Amp opponents got part of that wish.

Dean told members of the Amp Citizens Advisory Committee Tuesday that he was calling on the Nashville Metropolitan Transit Authority and the Regional Transit Authority to conduct a comprehensive regional transit study. The Amp will be part of MTA's study.

The mayor said Tuesday he will not seek state or local funding for the project next year, his last in office. While final design and work on the Amp will continue, the decision to forego funding this year leaves the Amp's future in the hands of Dean's successor, with MTA carrying the project in the interim.

"I was so encouraged that he is going to push for movement for MTA and RTA to come up with a regional mass transit plan," said Fulton, a commercial real estate broker with Colliers International and member of the CAC. "That is so necessary for this region to grow. The mayor is to be applauded for that."

Ralph Schulz, the president and CEO of the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce and a leading supporter of the Amp, said Dean's decision to hold off on funding requests wasn't a surprise, given the time frame for receiving federal environmental approval.

Schulz said the chamber will continue to push for the Amp.

"There's nothing changed in our work plan," he said. "If Nashville wants to continue to prosper, it can't afford to set aside the discussion. The opportunity [for continued growth] is sitting right out there and transit is the main obstacle to realizing that opportunity."

Scott Harrison covers government and economic development, banking and law.