Historical May 1993 article. Dates, prices, services and contacts describe the source period; current availability has not been established.
Several years ago, Jack Leary moved to St. Louis with his wife when he became Executive Director of F3iState Development Corporation.
He was a native Bostonian and had spent his entire career with the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority.
While he was in college, he was an operator on the Green Line light rail.
He majored in business administration and minored in transportation.
After graduation, he began moving up in the ranks at MEITA. Ile held a number of supervisory posts, including being in charge of construction operations.
His last position in Boston was Deputy General Manager for Operations.
In that job, he supervised light and heavy rail operations, communications and the Transportation Authority’s police. Though very fond of Boston, Lear), said that he does not miss that City.
He really likes St. Louis, especially the people. “People welcome you when you move here.
In Boston, it would take 2 months for the next door neighbor to introduce himself.” It certainly wasn’t that way when he moved to Kingsbury Square in our neighborhood.
He looked at many places before deciding on Kingsbury Square in county and city.
He and his wife decided they were city people and liked Kingsbury Square from the start. Nothing else seemed to compare to it. Leary finds the Skinker DeBaliviere neighborhood to be very convenient. “You have access to almost anywhere in a few minutes” including to St. Louis’s many fine restaurants. Kingsbury Square is also an ideal home for Leary because it is so close to the Forest Park MetroLink station. He’ll be able to ride MetroLink to work because there is a stop at Laclede’s Landing, where Bi- Statc’S corporate headquarters are located. MetroLink begins service in July. Trains already pass quickly through Skinker DeBaliviere during the trial period. Leary mentioned that the tracks will be ground down shortly to ensure quieter, better rides. Leary said that MetroLink will be the finest light rail transit system in the country.
The time, care, and diligence taken in planning it for a number of years have really paid off.
This is modem state- of-the-art technology. “We’re way ahead of systems built in Washington, D.C. and Atlanta in the 1970s.
He wants St. Louisans to give it a little time so they can get used to it and they will want to add the remaining links to the network. Leary noted that when MetroLink goes into operation, a totally revamped bus system will also go into place. Bus routes will be shorter and busses will run at more frequent intervals.
This should decrease travel time substantially.
These changes will “broaden the customer base for transit.” There will be a bus departing from the Forest Park MetroLink station that will stop at all of the park’s institutions.
In fact, this will be a bug–not a bus.
It is smaller and will be painted red with black dots and will sprout antennae.
Each train arriving at the Forest Park Station will be met by a bus going to Clayton and the Galleria. it will then be faster to go from downtown St. Louis by train And bus to Clayton than to drive. (Remember, you take up time retrieving your car downtown and then re-parking it at the other end.) We noted together the ease with which Skinker DeBaliviere residents can take MetroLink to Union Station, City Hall, Busch Stadium, St. Louis Centre …. Leary is very excited about this newest chapter in St. Louis transportation history and he can watch it unfold close to home in this neighborhood with its 2 stations on Delmar and on DeBaliviere.
Original photograph caption
Jack Leary, Bi-State executive director. Photographer not credited.
Originally published in The Times of Skinker-DeBaliviere, May 1993.
Read this article in the original newspaper issue.
Original source: SD_Times1993_05.pdf, printed page(s) 1; PDF page(s) 1.
