Update: Why Was Mailbox Yanked? It Lacked Local Love, USPS Says

A street-corner mailbox in north La Mesa wasn’t needed and wasn’t going to be missed, the U.S. Postal Service says. So it was pulled from its home of several decades.

The mailbox resided on the northwest corner of Dugan Avenue and Laird Street, near Jackson Park. The vacant spot is now marked by a small cross with a sign that says:  —planted by retired Teamster Jack Lewis.

Eva Jackson, a spokeswoman for the Postal Service’s San Diego District, says: “The decision to remove the collection box at 5800 Dugan Avenue was made by our Operations Programs Department following the completion and evaluation of our annual  collection box density test.”

The mailbox at 5800 Dugan Ave.—in front of the home of Jack and Elisa Lewis—was removed Oct. 14, Jackson says.

Can a mailbox be restored to a location via an appeal process?

Jackson says the neighborhood had its chance to voice its opposition before it was taken away.

“Customer notification is posted on the collection box for  30 days prior to removal,” she said via email last week.  “During that time, customers may contact their postmaster with their comments, complaints, and/or recommendations.”

She said the Postal Service listens to customer feedback, but “in this particular case, the postmaster only received one comment.”

What led to the mailbox being removed?

“We conduct annual density testing, which took place over a two-week period in April,” Jackson said.  “Collection boxes that receive fewer than 25 pieces of mail per day during the two-week density testing are subject to removal.”
 
She said the nearest collection box to 5800 Dugan Ave. is at 6055 Lake Murray Blvd. 

“According to Google Maps, it is a 6-minute walk away,” she said.

She also gave details on bombing of that mailbox mentioned by Jack Lewis.

“I spoke with the U.S. Postal Inspection Service,” she said.  “They said they investigated a pipe bomb explosion in June of 2008. No arrests have been made.”

The Postal Service, which also looked into* closing the Lake Murray Boulevard retail annex over the summer, has been seeking ways to save money in light of its severe budget problems. One move, which could save $3 billion, would slow delivery of first-class mail.

Proposed cuts would close more than half of the nearly 500 mail processing centers across the country as early as March 2012.

But the La Mesa Carrier Annex at 6055 Lake Murray Blvd. will not be shut, Jackson said Tuesday.

“The letter carriers will remain at the annex, and it is not under review for consolidation or closure,” Jackson said. “This past summer we were given approval to close the part-time retail window at the Carrier Annex, but decided to revisit that decision.”

The retail window at the La Mesa Carrier Annex at 6055 Lake Murray Blvd. remains open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday-Friday and 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday.

“We are only revisiting the decision to close the retail window. … Even if the retail window were to close, the collection box would still remain outside of the carrier annex.”

*Editor’s note: An earlier version of this story incorrectly said the retail window at the Lake Murray Boulevard postal annex had closed.