It took a year, but a petition to get an additional mailbox for Magnolia Village may have paid off.
Local administrators for the United States Post Office went on an hour-long tour of the Village with Magnolia resident Melanie Smith, scouting for potential mailbox sites. The effort came on the heels of Smith's yearlong petition to get an additional box for the neighborhood after a popular box was removed from the alley behind the post office at West McGraw Street in Magnolia Village.
More boxes throughout the country were removed as a cost-savings measure. The USPS has been losing money largely do to fewer first-class packages being mailed.
Post offices have been consolidating locations as well. There were rumors last year that Magnolia's branch would be absorbed by the Interbay distribution center. But that idea never panned out.
Instead, regional USPS administrators have looked at various locations for an additional box that could ease traffic congestion on West McGraw Street, in front of the post office where people tend to double park to quickly drop off letters and packages.
Among the possible new locations is an open drive-through at US Bank at 3124 W. Mcgraw St. US Bank is looking into the idea.
But as one box is installed, another must be removed from the neighborhood. USPS will make the decision based on the amount of use the box gets.
Box locations considered for removal are at 3054 28th Ave. W., 3655 34th Ave. W., 2809 Thorndyke Ave. W., 4223 26th Ave. W., 1897 Magnolia Blvd., 4001 Gilman Ave. W., 4019 21st Ave. W., and 3211 W. McGraw St.
"We're looking at keeping the same number of boxes in Magnolia, not adding," said Richard Ardry, USPS manager of customer service operations. Ardry added that there is no timeline to get a new box installed.
Ardry said USPS has always had boxes on private property, but has never paid any lease. Should US Bank ask for financial compensation, USPS will look for other options.[[In-content Ad]]
