Winona Tea Party Candidate Joshua Chasco: "This Project is Just an Unneeded Waste of Money"

Co-founder of the Winona Tea Party Patriots Joshua Chasco is running for an at-large seat on the Winona City Council, The Winona Daily News had a brief mention of Mr. Chasco's position on PRT. I asked Mr. Chasco for a statement for this blog and he graciously sent the following:

“The hopes and dreams of a PRT system for Winona, MN is just that; hopes and dreams. City leaders have stated that this project ‘Will bring in local jobs’ ignoring the fact that if it is a government funded project, the local businesses are not guaranteed the contracts in the bidding process. How about property rights? Who decides what yard is taken to put in support pillars or offsets the lost property value of a home because it’s once beautiful view of the bluffs or river is now a view of steel and concrete? We have a beautiful city of approximately 27,000 people and already have two cab company’s and a well developed busing system in town, this project is just an unneeded waste of money and resources in a time when we are already broke as a nation. Chock it up to over ambitious government representatives thinking they know how we should spend our hard earned money better than we do. I will break out my old Simpsons DVD’s and we can all sing the “monorail, monorail” song together as our money wasted on another dumb idea. I hope that our city leaders will come to their senses and start thinking about fiscal responsibility and stop acting like kids at a candy store with eyes glared over wanting to spend someone else’s money”

Joshua Chasco

This is in sharp contrast to Winona Mayor Jerry Miller's support for PRT.





Once again, here's a list of recent pod flops and fiascos:

Taxi 2000 lobbyist and Bachmann pal Ed Cain also lobbied for the phony U.S. Navy Veterans Association charity.

ULTra PRT Heathrow Debut Postponed a Fourth Time.

No $25 million earmark for PRT pork project in Winona, Minnesota.

The Swedish/Korean PRT prototype malfunctioned recently in front of the media.

The Masdar PRT (actually computer-guided golf carts that follow magnets imbedded in the roadway) has been scaled way back, This setback got a mention in the NY Times and confirmed in this Bloomberg article.

The so-called Morgantown PRT (it's a mundane people-mover) was the subject of a student newspaper editorial after a malfunction created a "fireball" and filled a vehicle with smoke. The cost of fixing the Morgantown boondoggle is $93 million.

Daventry Express: "Councillors see pods in action at Heathrow Airport"

That's the headline in the Daventry Express, but Councillor Chris Over doesn't evince much excitement:

"Generally speaking it seems to be a good system. It is well-suited to Heathrow where there is a constant stream of people heading to different places.

"We will need to look at it again once it is being used in volume. And it is only one transport option being looked at for Daventry.

No mention in the article why the ULTra PRT June launch was scrubbed or why the Daventry District Council continues to promote PRT after their previous attempts to bring pods to Daventry ended in fiasco.

Once again, here's a list of recent pod flops and fiascos:

Taxi 2000 lobbyist and Bachmann pal Ed Cain also lobbied for the phony U.S. Navy Veterans Association charity.

"Columbia [Maryland] failed to win a federal grant for a futuristic PRT that would have allowed riders to board driverless cars, key in their destination and proceed nonstop along elevated guideways." - Columbia Flyer [ explorehoward.com ] )(yes, this is history, but new info for this blog)

ULTra PRT Heathrow Debut Postponed a Fourth Time.

No $25 million earmark for PRT pork project in Winona, Minnesota.

The Swedish/Korean PRT prototype malfunctioned recently in front of the media.

The Masdar PRT (actually computer-guided golf carts that follow magnets imbedded in the roadway) has been scaled way back, This setback got a mention in the NY Times and confirmed in this Bloomberg article.

The so-called Morgantown PRT (it's a mundane people-mover) was the subject of a student newspaper editorial after a malfunction created a "fireball" and filled a vehicle with smoke. The cost of fixing the Morgantown boondoggle is $93 million.

Will MnDOT Invite Commutapult to 8/18 PRT Workshop?

Hilarious video from Commutapult:

Commutapult from Mark S. on Vimeo.

H/T Dissociated Press

Winona Tea Party Candidate Reaffirms Opposition to Personal Rapid Transit (PRT)

Co-founder of the Winona Tea Party Patriots Joshua Chasco is running for an at-large seat on the Winona City Council, The Winona Daily News has Chasco's position on PRT:

Chasco is also against the city's pursuit of Personal Rapid Transit, which uses small, pod-like vehicles on guideways to shuttle passengers to their destinations. He said the project will come with few guarantees, a likelihood of high costs to the city and the possibility that property owners' rights could be impacted, he said.

Chasco is on the ballot in the August 10th primary. The two top vote-getters will be on the ballot in November.

Mayor Jerry Miller, a Republican is a PRT promoter. The City of Winona will likely be participating in the August 18th MnDOT PRT workshop.

Once again, here's a list of recent pod flops and fiascos:

Taxi 2000 lobbyist and Bachmann pal Ed Cain also lobbied for the phony U.S. Navy Veterans Association charity.

"Columbia [Maryland] failed to win a federal grant for a futuristic PRT that would have allowed riders to board driverless cars, key in their destination and proceed nonstop along elevated guideways." - Columbia Flyer [ explorehoward.com ]

ULTra PRT Heathrow Debut Postponed a Fourth Time.

No $25 million earmark for PRT pork project in Winona, Minnesota.

The Swedish/Korean PRT prototype malfunctioned recently in front of the media.

The Masdar PRT (actually computer-guided golf carts that follow magnets imbedded in the roadway) has been scaled way back, This setback got a mention in the NY Times and confirmed in this Bloomberg article.

The much-hyped PRT project in Daventry ended in fiasco.

The so-called Morgantown PRT (it's a mundane people-mover) was the subject of a student newspaper editorial after a malfunction created a "fireball" and filled a vehicle with smoke. The cost of fixing the Morgantown boondoggle is $93 million.

Jack Slade's Sky Trax Personal Rapid Transit (PRT) Video

Jack Slade is a PRT inventor with a dream... and an attitude:

Some people on the list probably think that I am one of the most out-spoken SOB's they have ever heard of.

He sure is... here's the out-spoken SOB inventor's rant about passengers shooting terrorists with bullets "dipped in pig blood":

Terrorism and Transportation Choice
Thu, 2010/02/04 - 12:00am

Dennis, we went through the whole buildup of aviation mostly in the years 1945 to 2000 without having to restrict firearms on aircraft.

During thise years, can you name me one problem that ever occurred, or one persin that was ever injured? If you can, it certainly did not ever get published in the aircraft accident and incident reports that I was reading constantly during that period.

Lesser of 2 evils....which would you prefer,(1) a trained, armed, passenger or (2) a terrorist who has total freedom to kill everybody on board? If you really want to put the fear of Allah into these terrorists, you should make it be known that ALL your bullets have been dipped in pig blood. All the Military bullets, too.

Jack Slade

Here's Jack Slade's video of his Skytrax PRT model:




Jack Slade got himself onto the list of would -be PRT vendors on the City of San Jose website:

Co-founder of Winona Tea Party Patriots Opposes Pods

Winona Daily News:

Chasco, the co-founder of the Winona Tea Party Patriots, called for the city to reduce its dependence on state and federal aid, with a goal of eventually being self-sufficient. In his opening statement, he talked about how he wanted to "lessen our dependency on aid that requires us to lose our freedoms." He also spoke critically of two other large projects city leaders have promoted - high-speed rail and Personal Rapid Transit, which uses small, pod-like vehicles on guideways to shuttle passengers to their destinations.

Alameda Dumps SunCal Project That Promised Personal Rapid Transit

San Francisco Chronicle July 21, 2010 report:

Alameda scrapped its contract with a developer early today to bring thousands of homes and offices to the former Navy base, sending the sprawling project back to the drawing board 14 years after the military left.

The City Council voted 4-0, with one abstention, to sever its four-year relationship with SunCal Cos. of Irvine (Orange County), which had planned to build 4,800 homes, a 60-acre sports complex, offices, parks, schools and a ferry terminal at the former Alameda Naval Air Station, which covers one-third of the island city.

Money quote:

"No matter what kind of Disneyland magic transit they talk about, I don't see how they're going to get all that traffic through two lanes of the (Posey) Tube," Johnson said. "I don't want people to come up to me in the grocery store and say, 'You're the person who ruined Alameda.' "

Suncal pitched its development with PRT to the Alameda City Council on September 10, 2008:

Traffic jams and empty storefronts were two of the main concerns of the City Council and the community at Wednesday's special meeting focused primarily on developer SunCal's latest concept for the former Navy base.

SunCal's 6,200-plus residential unit proposal included self-described "visionary" features: a possible "solar farm" to generate energy and heat; a Bus Rapid Transit system to encourage public transit use and ease traffic; and a Jetson-like Personal Rapid Transit system, which would shuttle people in small computerized electrical vehicles on an elevated roadway to transit hubs.

When pressed by Councilmember Doug DeHaan, the SunCal consultant conceded that the overhead roadway with the computerized vehicles may not be viable, but should it work out, it would be extended throughout the island. Developers in years past had extolled the virtues of a ski-lift-like gondola that would transport people back and forth across the estuary, and another proposal called for a BART system to do the same task underwater. Neither idea made it past the dream stage.

Here's Suncal's presentation at the Alameda City Council September 10, 2008:







This latest setback for the pod people is just one more I'll add to the list of recent pod flops and fiascos:

Taxi 2000 lobbyist and Bachmann pal Ed Cain also lobbied for the phony U.S. Navy Veterans Association charity.

ULTra PRT Heathrow Debut Postponed a Fourth Time.

No $25 million earmark for PRT pork project in Winona, Minnesota.

The Swedish/Korean PRT prototype malfunctioned recently in front of the media.

The Masdar PRT (actually computer-guided golf carts that follow magnets imbedded in the roadway) has been scaled way back, This setback got a mention in the NY Times and confirmed in this Bloomberg article.

The much-hyped PRT project in Daventry ended in fiasco.

The so-called Morgantown PRT (it's a mundane people-mover) was the subject of a student newspaper editorial after a malfunction created a "fireball" and filled a vehicle with smoke. The cost of fixing the Morgantown boondoggle is $93 million.