USPS Is Relocating Post Offices in These States
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Most of us know exactly where our nearest post office is located—and when it comes to having to pick up packages or drop off mail during the busy work week, we rely on it being right where it’s always been. But for some customers, that’s about to change. The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) will often close post offices for any number of reasons, and while most of these closures are only temporary, that’s not always the case. The agency is now moving a few post offices permanently. Read on to find out why these relocations are taking place.
RELATED: USPS Is Making These Changes to Your Mail .
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The Postal Service has over 33,600 post offices across the U.S., but these locations are not set in stone. In fact, the USPS “can relocate post offices from one place to another , typically within the same ZIP Code area, for reasons such as lease issues or space optimization,” according to the agency’s Office of Inspector General (USPSOIG).
The agency has already announced this month that it is proposing to relocate three different post offices. In a July 5 local press release , the USPS revealed plans to move the Olpe Post Office in Olpe, Kansas, to a new location.
Then on July 19, the agency confirmed in separate local press releases that it is also proposing the relocation of the Pineville Post Office in Pineville, North Carolina, and the Benning Station Post Office in Washington, D.C.
RELATED: USPS Is Suspending Services in These Places, Effective Immediately .
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Postal customers in Olpe, Kansas, have been without a local post office for over a year now. The USPS temporarily closed the Olpe Post Office in May 2022 after it failed to secure a new lease agreement for its location at 118 Westphalia Street, local radio station KVOE reported. Since May 14 of last year, Olpe residents have had to travel to the Emporia Post Office to access mail services.
That may change soon. In its new press release, the USPS said that it has now proposed a relocation for the Olpe Post Office “due to the expiration of the building lease.” The agency is planning to move it to an “alternate building of approximately 900 square feet within the 66865 zip code,” according to the announcement.
“The proposed new facility will maintain the same level of retail service as the closed location,” the agency added in its release. “The Postal Service apologizes for any inconvenience and appreciates your patience as we assess possible concerns.”
Best Life reached out to the USPS to get more information on when the Olpe Post Office relocation is expected to happen, and we will update this story with their response.
RELATED: See a Sticker on Your Mailbox? Don’t Touch It, USPS Says .
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The USPS is also planning to relocate the Pineville Post Office in North Carolina and the Benning Station Post Office in D.C. because of lease issues. The current landlords for both facilities have chosen not to renew the leases for either location, according to the agency. Unlike the Olpe Post Office, Pineville and Benning Station have not been closed, and will continue to serve customers for the time being.
“The Postal Service plans to provide services at the Benning Station facility until the replacement facility is open and operating as a Post Office,” the agency said in its D.C. release.
For Pineville, the USPS also confirmed that it “plans to provide services at the current facility until the new location is operational.”
The Postal Service said that the Pineville Post Office, which is currently located at 206 College Street, will be relocated to a “yet-to-be-determined location as close as reasonably possible to the current site within the Pineville city limits that is suitable for our operational needs.”
But the USPS has already settled on a new location for the Bennington Station Post Office—moving it from its current location at 3924 Minnesota Ave. to 3937 1/2 Minnesota Ave.
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Many post offices are not actually owned by the Postal Service. In fact, the agency maintains over 25,000 leased properties , according to the USPSOIG. These facilities operate like normal post offices, but they are owned by an outside landlord. About every five years, the leases expire, and the USPS has to work with the lessor to renew them.
In some cases, the Postal Service or the landlord will choose not to enter into a new agreement, effectively kicking the agency out of the space. And as in the Olpe Post Office situation, this may leave customers without a local post office for an indefinite period of time.
For instance, residents in Bolinas, California, have not had a facility in town since March, after the Bolinas Post Office was unable to secure a new lease agreement for its previous building, per an online petition .
Steve Hutkins , a retired English professor and founder of the Save the Post Office website, has made it clear that this is not an unusual scenario. In a May 2023 post , Hutkins said that the most common reason for post office suspensions are lease-related—whether the Postal Service or the landlord decided to terminate or not renew it.
“In any case, when a lease issue causes a suspension, it’s rare for the post office to reopen,” Hutkins warned. “Of the 375 suspensions known to have been caused by a lease issue, only 31 have reopened.”
- Source: https://facts.usps.com/size-and-scope/
- Source: https://www.uspsoig.gov/reports/audit-reports/post-office-relocation-process
- Source: https://about.usps.com/newsroom/local-releases/ks/2023/0705-olpe-ks-post-office-relocation-proposal.htm
- Source: https://about.usps.com/newsroom/local-releases/nc/2023/0719-postal-service-plans-relocation-of-pineville-po.htm
- Source: https://about.usps.com/newsroom/local-releases/dc/2023/0719-relocation-of-the-benning-station-post-office.htm
- Source: https://www.uspsoig.gov/reports/audit-reports/leased-facility-maintenance
See a Sticker on Your Mailbox? Don’t Touch It, USPS Says
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Your mailbox serves a very simple purpose: receiving mail and leaving outgoing mail for a carrier to pick up. Still, some of us enjoy sprucing up our mailboxes, adding personal flair, color, or even decals to help an otherwise standard mailbox stand out. But if you notice a paw print sticker on your mailbox that you didn’t add, don’t start peeling it off just yet—it’s likely part of a program run by the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) to help keep carriers safe. Read on to find out what these stickers mean and why you shouldn’t remove them.
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In 2023, more than 5,800 Postal Service workers were attacked by dogs while delivering mail, up from 5,300 in 2022, according to a USPS press release.
Larger cities had the highest numbers of attacks, with Los Angeles, Houston, Chicago, St. Louis, and Cleveland claiming the top five spots.
“Even though a customer’s dog is friendly to most people, it can always have a bad day,” said letter carrier Tara Snyder . “I know, from experience, even when a dog is in the house, customers need to make sure their door is secure so their dog can’t push it open and bite the letter carrier.”
To her point, the USPS writes that “all dogs can bite, even those perceived as nonaggressive.” In fact, many of the attacks that letter carriers report are by dogs whose owners told them, “My dog won’t bite.”
Such an attack can result in consequences for the homeowner, too. According to data from the Insurance Information Institute, the average cost per insurance claim for a dog bite is $64,555, the USPS states.
“When a postal employee suffers an injury, the owner could be responsible for medical bills, lost wages, uniform replacement costs, and pain and suffering for the employee,” they explain.
RELATED: USPS Is Making These Changes to Your Mail, Starting Now .
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To combat dog bites, the Postal Service shared tips on how pet owners can “support safe mail delivery.” These include keeping dogs inside the house or behind a fence, away from the door or in another room, or on a leash.
“Pet owners also should remind children not to take mail directly from a letter carrier as the dog may view the carrier as a threat to the child,” they state.
Mail carriers also follow protocol to keep them aware of areas where dogs might be present, and they’re equipped with scanners to remind them of possible dog hazards, as well as dog warning cards that are added during mail sorting.
In 2020, the USPS added another preventive measure: the PAWS Program . First introduced in Pennsylvania, the program uses mailbox stickers to keep carriers safe.
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The PAWS Program uses color-coded stickers affixed to mailboxes to inform mail carriers about dogs in the area. An orange sticker with a black paw print tells carriers that there is a dog at this home, while a yellow sticker with a black paw print tells them there is a dog at the next house.
Citizens are informed ahead of time that the stickers may appear on their mailboxes. In a notice sent to Lakewood, Ohio, residents, the Postal Service wrote, “Carriers will soon be placing a paw sticker on mailboxes to indicate that a dog or dogs live in the area —yellow indicates dog nearby/orange indicates dog at residence. The sticker will act as a reminder to the carrier that they should proceed with caution, especially when delivering packages to the door.”
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Removing these stickers may do more harm than good, as your mail service can be halted if your carrier feels unsafe. Not only does this affect the home of the dog owner, but it also applies to the entire neighborhood, the USPS said in a previous press release . Service isn’t restored in these instances “until the aggressive dog is properly restrained.”
At the end of the day, these stickers are put in place to “reduce the risk of dog bites and attacks that occur while delivering mail,” which is just another reason you should leave the sticker on your mailbox.
“We all love our dogs,” Kimberly Tilley , acting postmaster for Winston-Salem, told WGHP. “We love our animals, but we … have to take responsibility to protect the carrier and the people around us as well from our animals.”
Tilley added that dog bites are more common than you think, and they can be traumatic for carriers. “Once a carrier has been bit, it sets some fear in them long term for the rest of their life,” she told the outlet.
However, although these stickers are strongly recommended, if you object to having a sticker placed on your mailbox, you can opt out , Kyle Stevens , Southwest Carrier Annex station manager in South Dakota, told KELO in 2021. To do so, the first step would be to contact your local post office.
This story has been updated to include additional entries, fact-checking, and copy-editing.
