Councilmember exploring other locations for downtown drive-up mailbox

Councilmember David Teitzel
Councilmember David Teitzel

Edmonds City Councilmember Dave Teitzel is leading an effort to explore options for a downtown Edmonds drive-up postal box to replace the one that will soon be removed on 2nd Avenue between the old and new U.S. Post Office facilities.

Teitzel announced his initiative at the end of Tuesday night’s Edmonds City Council meeting. He noted that he had talked to a number of citizens and read comments on My Edmonds News  that removing the mailbox will be a hardship for those who are elderly or have physical challenges that “make it difficult for them to get out of the car and drop mail off.”

Teitzel said he contacted Edmonds Postmaster Todd Merriman to share those concerns and was told that first-class mail volumes have been declining for some time and “he’s not sure drive-up mailboxes are needed anymore.”

tn_DSC_0257The councilmember then asked the postmaster whether he’d be willing to look at alternatives if the city was able to identify two or three good locations for a drive-up box, and Merriman said that he would.

Teitzel said he is now working with City Public Works Director Phil Williams to identify possible locations and after that is done, the two of them will meet with Merriman “to see if we can come up with something.”

“The effort’s ongoing,” Teitzel added. “Whether it’s successful is hard to say.”

— By Teresa Wippel

  1. Thank you for this help Dave! After reading Todd Merriman’s comments, I better understand the design of the new location:
    • 1 single entry door vs. 2 double doors – awkward even for those with no mobility issues
    • fire hydrant in front of main entrance vs. 5 min parking zone
    • mail box placed directly in front of main door inches away from potential convenient drive through
    • earlier response that drive throughs are available at Perrinville and Lynnwood USPOs
    This attitude is one reason why 1st class mail volumes are down.

  2. I rarely drop off mail at the drive-through box without seeing other people doing the same. It IS needed. Dave Teitzel, you are my hero! We can’t put outgoing mail in our mailboxes because (1) someone can steal it, and (2) the last time we did that, my husband found one piece of it lying in the street at hour later. It could have been designed into the new parking area so easily at the beginning. Now it’s a problem because of someone’s shortsightedness. And they expect us to drive from downtown to Lynnwood or Perrinville? Right.

  3. Thank you Dave!!! Mr Merriman has apparently never been out to see what goes on at the drive in: I have rarely dropped mail off without seeing someone else doing the same. But numbers are also misleading: the box is NEEDED by those of us who can’t easily walk – even if there were only a few of us, does Mr. Merriman think our needs are something that can simply be dismissed?

    It is a pity that a council member needs to add the idea of “service” to the mix; I always thought that was part of USPS…

  4. Yea Dave! Thanks for officially taking this on for all of us who utilize the current USPS mail drop-off.
    In the interests of supporting your efforts to accommodate both persons with disabilities and mail security issues there is an environmental case for not causing more driving a greater distance (Lynnwood or Perrinville) to drop off mail – besides the time consuming inconvenience of it.

    And as I stated in an earlier comment, an alternative location and be easily found by utilizing one of 2 spots: the Library book drop-off on Dayton or near Harbor Square next to the FedEx and UPS drop boxes.

    I agree with an earlier commenter in that I regularly wait in line, even early Sunday mornings to drop my mail.

    Thanks again Dave, your support is appreciated!

  5. Yes, please find a place for an easily assessable drive up mail drop. Too often the parking spaces were full and it was much faster and drier to go to the drive up drop off!

  6. Edmonds Postmaster Todd Merriman…(said) “he’s not sure drive-up mailboxes are needed anymore.”

    Maybe Edmonds Postmaster Todd Merriman is not needed anymore.

    1. Good point John. People who have no need for something themselves never see the need for anyone else.

  7. Maybe something can be negotiated with the developer, post office and Council to have a drive up on Main Street where the 5 minute parking currently is. It is my understanding that that property is phase two of the development and there is still time to include one (assuming all parties can work out agreeable terms) to make that happen.

  8. How about just swapping out one of the existing collection boxes at the IGA, Goodwill or City Hall with a drive-up box? That seems like a viable option to me.

  9. So far the best general idea that I have seen comes from taking advantage of an existing one-way access without losing any parking, because it is the least invasive and most natural choice. This keeps the access for the box on the driver’s side without opposing traffic, or needing a passenger aboard if the driver isn’t scooting over a seat or exiting the vehicle. Samantha Saether mentioned the Library bookdrop area, and it is true there is room on the west end of the concrete pad already there. One of the original three bookdrops installed on the Dayton side of the building was moved in 2011 to be near the entry on Main. Another idea I saw was about using the small triangle of land at Centennial Square because it separates eastbound and westbound Bell St. for a short distance. There may be other such worthy examples.

    I do not think losing parking downtown is a wise course of action and removing multiple parking spaces from the PS/Court lot directly affects the markets and all major events held in the area. Ultimately, the USPS is going to determine whether or not anything at all happens. An agency with shrinking revenue looking to cut costs wherever possible is not likely to want to add expenses by reinstalling a drop box that needs six days of servicing per week, so my guess is significant public outcry will be necessary to overcome this reticence, or it will all remain conversation and conjecture. For this reason, I applaud Dave Teitzel’s efforts that spawned this article.

  10. Besides convenience and mobility issues another reason people the old drop box was to get mail moving more quickly to it destination. Home pick up goes back to Perrinville and gets on its way sometime in the early evening. The old signs showed pickup at various times of day and it is assumed that after the pick up times posted the mail actually starts its journey. It would be nice to know if indeed that the mail actually starts its journey shortly after pick up or gets bundled with the home pick up mail and goes in the evening. I am hopeful that Dave T. asks these types of question of the PO and that if we indeed find a convenient place that the service level is the same as the old location.

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