Is the North Haven Post Office Worth Saving?

With the future of North Haven's Washington Avenue Post Office up in the air, we wanted to reach out to readers to share their thoughts on the preservation—or elimination—of the USPS's local branch. 

Throughout the next several days, we'll be running a series of articles discussing various aspects of the ongoing changes to the postal system from the perspective of town government, the private sector, the USPS itself and residents like you.

How would the disappearance of a branch in town affect your lifestyle? Would you mind commuting to a neighboring city to ship packages, buy stamps, and receive mail from PO boxes?

On the other hand, how has email and private couriers like FedEx changed your relationship to the post office? Have we reached the point where physical mail is not a priority to business and communication the way it was in the past?

Finally, what remedies could you propose to the current crisis? Would you recommend moving the post office to a certain centralized location, or perhaps elminating delivery on certain days of the week? Your input could go a long way in shaping the debate in North Haven. 

Some quick facts about the current state of the USPS:

• First Class mail volume has decreased 29% from 1998 to 2008.
• The Post Office experienced an $8.5 billion budget shortfall in 2010.
• Up to 3,700 small post offices may be closed nationwide after August 2011, and replaced with kiosks in grocery and drug stores. 
• The National Association of Letter Carriers, a union representing non-rural letter carriers employed by the USPS, recently hired Ron Bloom, a former Obama adviser, to develop business strategies for the organization. 
• The proportion of advertising mail to First Class mail has grown significantly since the 1980s, jumping growing from 29% of all mail in 1980 to 43% in 2003. 

Share your thoughts in the comments, or by emailing me directly at benjaminl@patch.com.