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    • Residents Angry Post Office Fails To Deliver Save Email Print
    Widening of 72nd Street forces end to home delivery
    Posted: 10:28 PM Mar 16, 2008
     Last Updated: 12:20 AM Mar 17, 2008
     Email Address: sixonline@wowt.com
    39 comments
    A | A | A

    A broken promise has Omaha's postmaster getting some angry mail. Two-dozen families are no longer receiving home delivery despite assurances it wouldn't happen.

    The Yates' put up a driveway mailbox outside their home at 72nd and Rainwood Road, knowing they will never find a letter inside. “We pay enough taxes out here that we could use our mailboxes back," says homeowner Paul Yates.

    After 40 years of home delivery, the Yates’ must drive a half-mile to a new cluster box to pick up their mail.

    The Yates' say Omaha's postmaster failed to deliver on a promise that home delivery would return after the widening of North 72nd Street. “I fully expected that those boxes would go back on the road, but they're not going to, it's not safe," says Omaha postmaster EvaJon Sperling.

    She told Six On Your Side she didn't realize the new road had a curb and sidewalk instead of a shoulder, so the carrier can't pull off safely. Four lane traffic moving 45 mph or faster makes stopping on North 72nd risky business. "I'm not going to put my employees in that kind of a hazard," says Sperling.

    The Allens wonder why the Postal Service didn't see that coming. “Come out and look the situation over first before they go so far," says Gerald Allen.

    The Yates’ suggest a turnaround in the postmaster's policy. "They wouldn't have to get out of the vehicle," says Paul Yates. "Put mail in, back out and go."

    "We aren't going to pull up people's driveways and back out into traffic," says Sperling.

    The Postal Service has tested driveway turnarounds, but that's not safe enough either.

    Omaha's postmaster hopes to avoid making another promise she can't keep. Anytime home delivery is stopped due to construction, the project plans will be reviewed to make sure carriers can still pull up to mailboxes.

    Safety will determine if cluster boxes will have to be used in those situations.
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    Posted by: ERIC Location: SEATTLE on Mar 23, 2008 at 07:10 PM
    IT'S NO SECRET THE USPS IS SEEKING TO ELIMINATE FOOT-ROUTES IN FAVOR OF CLUSTER-DELIVERY..THIS SAVES BOTH TIME AND SAFETY(DOG/OTHER PERILS)ON A FOOT ROUTE.BOX-TO-BOX DELIVERY IS ALSO INEFFICENT MORE GAS AND TIME AND PENDING TRAFFIC AROUND THE DELIVERY VEHICLE IS COMRPOMISED.IF THE OTHER-GUYS UPS/FEDEX/DHL OUR SO-CALLED WANTBE LIKE THEM COMPETITORS WERE TO HAVE RIGHTS TO DELIVER MAIL..NONE WOULD DO BOX-TO-BOX DELIVERY AND CERTAINLY NEVER DOORSTEP'(FOOT DELIVERY)DAILY..ALL-THREE HAVE NUMEROUSLY INDICATED IF THEY WERE EVER TO WIN THIS TYPE OF CONTRACT IT CERTAINLY WOULD BE 3X WEEKLY DELIVERY TO A CULSTERBOX TYPE SETUP NEVER DOORSTEP OR RUEL BOX TO BOX..WHY WOULD YOU THINK WE WOULD DO THIS ON NEW NEIGHBOURHOODS OR STREET UPGRADES&CHANGES?IT'S NOT GONNA HAPPEN...NOT ANYWHERE IN USA..IT IS THE NEW WAY WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?
    Posted by: anon Location: NE on Mar 19, 2008 at 01:10 PM
    Hey Pat, that sounds like a TYPICAL federally-employed manager/supervisor to me...
    Posted by: Pat Location: Ga. on Mar 18, 2008 at 10:01 PM
    As window clerks we used to get complaints all the time because the box mail was supposed to be boxed each day by 830 am, real time was 10,11 even after 12 some days not at all on some sat. The window clerks would be blamed for long lines at window and just about everything else. We would tell them that we had nothing to do with that work and to see the postmaster. Well he would tell the customers whatever they wanted to hear, nothing that solve the problem. The next day the customer would blame us again. We knew what the problem was, but it was beyond our control to correct. We started to give the phone number of our district manager to customers & told them to stop calling the postmaster or the 800 numbers. It didn't take many calls to the district manager to figure something was wrong. Several days later she showed up (250 miles) at the post office around 9am to see for herself. Problem solved. The postmaster has to call her every day to give her the time box mail is complete
    Posted by: Anonymous on Mar 18, 2008 at 06:24 PM
    I don't get it. The postmaster never cared about our safety before. Why now?
    Posted by: Biff Location: Elkmaha on Mar 18, 2008 at 10:13 AM
    It doesn't surprise me that the postmaster didn't keep herself in the loop regarding the changes to the road. I've little faith in the postal service these days and try to interact with them as little as possible. Our carrier can't even sort the mail properly, nor does he/she know enough to take an extra nanosecond on windy days to ensure the mailboxes in the neighborhood are closed (it's not that difficult), and it seems like a gargantuan effort for them to put oversized envelopes, etc. (which we rarely get) inside the door, opting instead to cram them inside our box. I gripe and gripe (appropriately), but nothing ever changes.
    Posted by: Michael Location: Clarksville, TN on Mar 18, 2008 at 08:19 AM
    You can buy a bracket that mounts onto a concrete curb, and a mailbox post fits into the bracket. As long as everyone in the affected area gets them. I'm a letter carrier. The post master is BSing you. They always do to save them time and therefore make their numbers look good.
    Posted by: Les Location: Carson, Iowa on Mar 17, 2008 at 10:07 PM
    I propose that mail only be delivered once a week. That way, you only have to walk to the cluster box 52 times per year and it will save us all money.
    Posted by: lowanda Location: anywhere usa on Mar 17, 2008 at 09:55 PM
    if the post office says it is not safe for their employee, IT'S REALLY NOT SAFE. AND IF IT A RURAL CARRIER, most of us are still driving a left hand drive car, from the right side, stretching to reach both steering, gas, horn, turn signals, and BRAKES. NO SEAT BELT. the usps never cared about the rural carrier. in retrospect, the reason you may not be getting street delivery is that they have to pay someone 1/10 of a second to deliver your mail. the usps is going to cluster boxes whenever they can.
    Posted by: mike on Mar 17, 2008 at 09:09 PM
    perhap a private mail carrier could be hired to deliver the mail to each home.
    Posted by: Bubba on Mar 17, 2008 at 08:40 PM
    The times are a changin' folks. What do you expect for 41 cents....the mail carrier to bring it into your living room, rub your feet and fix you dinner! Sheesh!
    Posted by: Tom Location: Mobile on Mar 17, 2008 at 07:57 PM
    I used to work for the usps as a city carrier. I can tell you from my experience that the postmaster lied on purpose hoping to keep the customers quiet until the cluster box was installed and it was to late for the customer to challege. The supervisor and postmaster received updates on the progress of the road. The carrier drove this road for 5 days a week, knew they were installing a cluster box, knew what the postmaster had promised and am sure informed the sup. and postmaster at least once a week. Believe me the sup. and postmaster keep up with the carriers street time as construction was being done. This postmaster lied thur her teeth and she knows it. What can be done now? Probably nothing. Somethimes the carriers can be forced to deliver parcel to the door, not leave a notice in the cluster box (i would mail a empty parcel just big enough not to fit in the cluster box at least twice a week. If any elderly people that can't walk or drive they have to deliver to their dr.
    Posted by: Rural mail carrier Location: Maine on Mar 17, 2008 at 07:00 PM
    Remember that the Postal Service is a business, and must be concerned with the bottom line, as well as the safety of its workers. If I do something unsafe and have an accident or get hurt, it's my job at stake. If I take extra time to get out at mailboxes blocked by snow or cars when I've got over 500 boxes to serve, I'll be late for evening dispatch, and again, it's my job at stake. Most carriers are conscientious workers and would like nothing better than to make all our customers happy, but there's only so much we can do. Also, we're human, and we do make mistakes. You should put misdelivered mail back in your box so we know we've made a mistake - no need to write all over it either! Most times you can foster a good relationship with your carrier by talking to him/her about a problem, rather than complaining first. And mail carriers should follow that advice too! We carriers may not always agree with USPS policies, but we have to follow the rules if we want to keep our jobs!
    Posted by: Chris Location: LV on Mar 17, 2008 at 06:50 PM
    There's a very easy solution to this situation. Postmaster Sperling didn't realize the new road had a curb and a sidewalk instead of a shoulder. Did you catch that? A SIDEWALK! All of you posting that Americans are obese will definitely agree that the mail carrier can get out and walk that section of the route. It's safe. There's a sidewalk.
    Posted by: Mary Location: Gretna on Mar 17, 2008 at 05:41 PM
    The Postmaster made a good safety call on this one.
    Posted by: Laura L. Location: NW Omaha on Mar 17, 2008 at 03:16 PM
    We had a problem with mail delivery ten years ago when we first moved in because our neighbors had 4 vehicles for a one car driveway/garage and inevitably one of those vehicles was parked in front of our box. We received a very nasty note from the mailman stating how we were going to be "cut off" in 3 days if the box were still blocked. I responded with a nasty note to the mail carrier that if they wanted to stop delivering someone's mail, try the neighbors' since they were the ones blocking OUR BOX. To all who have said postage rates keep going up and for less service, I could tell horror story after horror story of our mail carrier (or backup, who knows) delivering our mail to someone else in the area...fortunately we live in a fairly respectable locale of middle-class working people and they have always brought our mail to us. That's if it ever got delivered at all. Thus, I RARELY use the USPS for ANYTHING...pay bills on-line, request UPS or FedEx shipping, send people e-cards...
    Posted by: E Location: Omaha on Mar 17, 2008 at 03:07 PM
    Would these people like to see someone die so they can get their magazine or Shopko ad?
    Posted by: RM Location: Omaha on Mar 17, 2008 at 02:41 PM
    Taxes have nothing to do with how the postoffice operates. You are not the first people with cluster boxes and you won't be the last.
    Posted by: T Location: Omaha on Mar 17, 2008 at 02:36 PM
    Lori, the government didn't lie. They just don't want their employees in danger. Why don't you volunteer to deliver this mail and see how safe it isn't!
    Posted by: BJ Location: Papillion on Mar 17, 2008 at 01:32 PM
    Promises?? What are you all kindergartners?? Its not safe thats the bottom line. Cry a river...build a bridge....get over it. GEEEEEZE!!!
    Posted by: LD Location: Omaha on Mar 17, 2008 at 01:25 PM
    I think that the safety of anyone, mail carrier and the customer is the concern of the postmaster. If it isn't safe for the carrier to deliver the mail to personal mailboxes, then how can it be safe for the customer to retrieve it as well? Kudos for the cluster box. And those complaining about receiving someone else's mail, that happens to all of us. If you just drop it back in a mail pick-up box to be redelivered to the right addressee. I grew up with a mailbox at the end of my driveway, but I also lived on a not so busy street. If the traffic issue had called for a cluster box, I would have been walking without complaint to the box, rain, sleet, snow or sunshine.
    Posted by: K Location: Omaha on Mar 17, 2008 at 01:17 PM
    The post office is just trying to do what every company that has a fleet of vehicles is doing cut back on costs. They can get more stops in by adding cluster boxes and cut back on people that are needed to run the routes. Quit complaining people.
    Posted by: Dee Location: Bellevue on Mar 17, 2008 at 12:12 PM
    Andrea: I had one who, because I was standing outside my house, was "nice" enough to come up, hand me my mail and then inform me that if the mailbox wasn't attached to my house tomorrow (the house was being painted) he wouldn't deliver the mail -- in a very nasty tone. Fortunately, he was not my regular carrier, who was a very nice gentleman. ******** I think that the reason these people are upset has more to do with the fact that a promise was broken & their mail is being delivered incorrectly (to the wrong pigeonhole) than the "laziness" being heaped on them by some of the people writing in to this website.
    Posted by: Anonymous on Mar 17, 2008 at 11:55 AM
    To all the people posting here, calling the homeowners "lazy", without even knowing who you are talking about: what if your 80-year old mother lived at one of these addresses, didn't drive anymore, and had a little trouble getting around? Would you still call her "lazy" for not walking a half mile -- maybe in ice, snow, and sub-zero wind chills, or perhaps a 100-degree heat wave in July -- to get her mail? The post office raises rates practically every year, but does less and less to earn that, so that they can cut jobs. The only laziness I see is in some -- certainly not all -- mail carriers... some of whom look like they could stand to get out of their trucks and move around a bit.
    Posted by: DT Location: Omaha on Mar 17, 2008 at 11:20 AM
    Kori et al: I think you['re missing the point: these homeowners were given a promise by the postmaster who is privy to all road construction details. She broke that promise. The homeowners want what was promised to them - not what they asked for. The homeowners interviewed were not obese. Also, re the cluste boxes; did you hear/see the lady who did not receive her own mail but someone elses? I don't blame the homeowners for wanting to hold public officials feet to the fire. Maybe if the public did that with more of our 'public servants' we'd have more honest government.
    Posted by: Laura Location: Omaha on Mar 17, 2008 at 10:40 AM
    I think the point is that the homeowners were promised home delivery would return. This project took long enough to complete that there was ample time for the postal service to check into how they were going to deliver on the promise made. Most people living in subdivisions are aware of the mail delivery system when they move in. Cluster boxes are a secure way of mail delivery, but if that is not what you were promised, it would not be a satisfactory solution. It is not the actual driving to the cluster box that is the issue, it is the principle of having to that is.
    Posted by: The Truth Location: Everywhere on Mar 17, 2008 at 10:16 AM
    Neither rain nor sleet nor snow....but traffic might. And people wonder why the USPS is on shaky ground.
    Posted by: To "Quit Being Lazy!" on Mar 17, 2008 at 10:15 AM
    Oh yes, Americans are obese because they don't walk or DRIVE to their mailboxes. Do we really need the US Government dictating our exercise routing? And don't you care about the mail carriers who are no longer getting their exercise on the job? No, the real issue here is your envy over the ease others have getting their mail. I get my mail at my porch, and our mail-carrier (Fe-mailman? Female carrier?) is in great shape! We also have a great relationship. I shovel a path for her after each snow, we leave her gifts at holidays, she alerts us to package deliveries, etc. Do you even know who your mail carrier is? Or are you too high and mighty in your new subdivision to mingle with blue collar workers? You're elitist attitude is killing America, not obesity!
    Posted by: Lori Location: omaha on Mar 17, 2008 at 09:17 AM
    I think the point is the Postmaster promised the residents their mail service would be unaffected by the street widening and is now reneging on that promise. Just more lies from government officials.....
    Posted by: Postmaster on Mar 17, 2008 at 08:54 AM
    A half mile! Why are you crying about this. You only drive by the cluster box about 10 times a day if you are an average american citizen! Quit being so lazy!
    Posted by: Chris Location: LV on Mar 17, 2008 at 08:48 AM
    Whoa! There are some pretty mean posts here! I'd love to do business with some of these posters. You know, do some business, make some promises, then break those promises and walk away with extra profit. If they’re true to their word, these people would just get a grip, stop whining, and let me walk all over them. Really? Nah! If I did that to these people they'd be screaming bloody murder until I made good on my promises. Things are different when you're the one who was lied to, aren't they?
    Posted by: andrea Location: omaha on Mar 17, 2008 at 08:01 AM
    In their defense, I had a mail carrier who would not leave mail in my box when a jerky neighbor would park in front of it. However, he could manage to leave me a nasty note about moving "my" car. Not all mail carriers do their job. They shouldn't have to be put in danger, but there are some who are just as lazy as the customers.
    Posted by: Dave Location: Omaha on Mar 17, 2008 at 07:15 AM
    Why not just pay your bills online..and use email for your letters? That would probably decrease your mail by 75 to 80 precent. And then ask yourself you do exactly what your demanding the carrier to do? If not be quiet and find a different alternative to getting your mail!
    Posted by: Paul on Mar 17, 2008 at 06:41 AM
    Cry baby...your taxes have nothing to do with this. The US Postal Service is its own independent entity.
    Posted by: Kori Location: Omaha on Mar 16, 2008 at 11:53 PM
    So let me get this straight - these people want the mail folk to risk their safety because they're too lazy to pick up their mail on their way home or simply walk down to the boxes???? I had to walk up and down three flights of steps and half a block to get my mail when I lived in an apartment and I didn't think anything of it. Get a grip people and stop whining. If you're that lazy that you want the mail folk to risk their safety just so you don't have to exert yourself, that's just pathetic.
    Posted by: who cares... on Mar 16, 2008 at 11:44 PM
    WHO CARES!! Why should they put their lives on the line by pulling in each driveway & backing out into a busy highway each and every day--what a waste of gas and time!!! GET OVER IT!!!
    Posted by: Cluster Box Location: Nebraska on Mar 16, 2008 at 10:58 PM
    One thing about cluster boxes - they are pretty secure, unlike many residential boxes that don't lock. The homeowners might look into pouring turnaround pads, if they want the mail driven up near their houses.
    Posted by: Quit Being Lazy! Location: Obese-R-U.S. on Mar 16, 2008 at 10:42 PM
    Quit your crying... this is why America is so full of obese people. WALK to your mailboxes or drive by them when coming home from work like all of us in newer subdivisions have to do! Yes, I grew up with my own mailbox on my front porch and it was nice, but those days are long gone...we all have to drive or walk to the cluster boxes in our subdivisions... Oh well, it makes for some much needed exercise!!!
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