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<br /> P L A N N I N G
<br /> ' R A C T I C E
<br /> finally agreed to split its op- post office and federal build- Big business side. So does overnight park-
<br /> erations, opening a distribu- ing, which dated from 1935, No one disputes that as the ing of fleets of delivery ve-
<br /> tion facility in the new loca- was too costly to maintain. operator of some 37,000 facili- hicles. And so does parking
<br /> tion while keeping its "retail" In Washington, Missouri, ties, the Postal Service must for customers who increasingly
<br /> functions (selling stamps and about 50 miles west of St.Louis, operate in a businesslike way. arrive at the post office by car.
<br /> accepting packages)downtown. the Postal Service contended The service has been a quasi What bothers the critics is
<br /> that replacing the too-small independent agency since 1971, what they perceive as the Postal
<br /> Newer is better downtown post office,built in and since 1983,when govern- Service's inconsistency—and
<br /> Madison's struggle is far from 1923, with a new facility on a ment subsidies for all but a sometimes inaccuracy. In
<br /> unique. In 1997, the Postal busy highway strip two miles few categories of mail deliv- Hartwell,Georgia,for example,
<br /> Service opened 385 newly built away, would better serve de- ery ended, it has been self- the postmaster cited a customer
<br /> facilities and shifted another veloping sections of the city. supporting. survey claiming there wasn't
<br /> 310 post offices from one leased The relocation process is It's also true that operations enough parking.Yet Mary Alice
<br /> location to another. Some of becoming a national issue.Last have changed dramatically Applegate, executive director
<br /> that activity, especially in the year, Rep.Earl Blumenauer,a from the days when intercity of the Downtown Develop-
<br /> Sun Belt, was a response to Democrat from Portland, Or- mail moved mainly by train ment Authority, points out,
<br /> population growth. However, egon,introduced legislation that and was sorted on board spe- "There's a public parking lot a
<br /> a number of the moves—the would require the Postal Ser- cial cars. Today, mail travels half-block away. I'm the only
<br /> service says it doesn't know vice to carry out a formal pro- mostly by truck or air and is one who uses it."
<br /> how many—involved reloca- cess of community consulta- sorted by huge machines, After months of dispute,the
<br /> tion from old downtown build- tion whenever a relocation is which require more floor space Postal Service conceded this
<br /> ings to new facilities in outly- planned.Nearly 100 represen- than can be found in many old summer that Hartwell's down-
<br /> ing areas. tatives have signed on as co- postal buildings.Maneuvering town post office could con-
<br /> The reasons given for relo- sponsors of Blumenauer's"Post 18-wheelers to the loading tinue to operate—with ramps
<br /> ions vary from place to place. Office Community Partnership docks requires more space out- added for disabled customers—
<br /> ., Hartwell, Georgia, the lo- Act" H.R. 1231).
<br /> cal postmaster argued that the A companion bill in the Sen-
<br /> downtown's 60-year-old post ate is sponsored by Vermont e: 1'�'' • (� ' IL-
<br /> office should be vacated be- Republican Jim Jeffords and ` "''r �,
<br /> 1 • .< Big trucks
<br /> cause of asbestos contamina- Montana Democrat Max - �: -- -
<br /> tion, poor accessibility for the Baucus.Postal Service officials wen. like this
<br /> disabled, and a lack of conve- have registered their opposi five-ton
<br /> meqq..` Brentwood
<br /> nient parking.In Terre Haute, tion to the legislation, which i itI 1 !I
<br /> Indiana, administrators de- they see as intruding on their .ted' •i mean
<br /> igger
<br /> Glared that the combination decision-makingpowers. `' _ y parks
<br /> parking
<br /> _ a \ lots.
<br /> New machinery like this bar code sorter in Syracuse is one
<br /> reason the Postal Service needs more space.
<br /> �' _ �ffl 1 _ if mail sorting and carrier ac-
<br /> tivities were moved to a new
<br /> .. *?� , location.
<br /> �� r ;,tib_ s 4^� ` 1. In Washington, Missouri,
<br /> 4 •P local people remained so de-
<br /> `, voted to a downtown location
<br /> 10.1• •
<br /> �
<br /> r ,. t' that the Washington Area
<br /> if ,, �_- "'x � Chamber of Commerce in No-
<br /> vember 1997 pledged$100,000
<br /> <<t — �7to a fund drive to help build
<br /> p T.;;,., _ ,, sthe new post office in the Gen
<br /> ,�44f --,r,- ; .I. , tral business district.
<br /> --_-_- ` F. Nine months later,the Postal
<br /> -, _ \ i '' - Service relented, agreeing to
<br /> - """":�.. % i \\ `•'S 1 renovate the downtown build-
<br /> t� ' 1 _ - ing and offer a full range of
<br /> ,I�'; , C i . 1 / services there,while also erect-
<br /> 1
<br /> "`) ' :I ,, "" ivirti t " .-- • VA ing a new post office on the
<br /> - t�'), i l�.'11' ..
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