Postal Service reduces Mount Washington hours

In the age of text messages and emails, the financially strapped U.S. Postal Service proposed this month to cut back hours at the Mount Washington post office in an effort to cut expenses.

In a May 8 announcement to customers, the postal service outlined the new hours — Monday through Friday 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 2 to 4 p.m. — that will eliminate two hours each day, effective on June 6. Saturday hours will remain the same.

“It’s kind of sad that things are changing that way,” said Lynne Squilla, a neighborhood resident. “I’m not quite sure what can be done about it.”

Ms. Squilla, a self-employed writer and producer, said she does much of her business through the postal service. “It was very convenient,” she said. “It’s just going to become a little less so.”

Tad Kelley, a spokesman for the postal service, said the post office can determine when customers are frequenting the offices and when the number of customers has declined or increased.

In the case of Mount Washington, a retail-only facility, that number was in decline, he said. Another contributing factor to the postal service’s decision was the nearby location of five postal branches and six stores that sell stamps.

The postal service scrapped plans in 2012 to close thousands of post offices nationwide in favor of reducing hours at more rural locations.

The postal service continues to monitor its various offices searching for ways to improve its finances, Mr. Kelley said. And as far as limiting hours at other local post offices, he did not rule it out.

“This is a possibility, but I do not have specifics at this time,” he said.

For the Mount Washington community, the post office remains a central part of the community’s business district, said Ilyssa Manspeizer, executive director of the Mount Washington Community Development Corp.

Although she said a strong and often-visited post office is important for the community, there are no plans to try to prevent the upcoming hour cuts.

“I’m not sure that would be the best investment of our time,” she said.