When a friend called Pat France one night to tell her the mail collection box -- on the median strip at the intersection of Knollwood and Aigburth roads -- was missing, she thought the woman was dreaming.

The box was the only collection box in the Knollwood-Donnybrook neighborhood, so France called the post office -- but she wasn't sure if she should be calling the police instead.

There are similar tales of woe in adjoining areas.

For instance, Ted Zaleski, chief of staff for the president of Towson University, was chatting in front of the Administration Building when he turned to mail a letter. "There is no mailbox," he said, "just four cut-off bolts in the concrete.

"I depend on that mailbox. I even put my income tax return in that."

This had to be a clandestine operation, he said

Meanwhile, Pat Fertitta, a secretary for a doctors' office in the Professional Center at St. Joseph Medical Center, had 600 invoices to mail, only she wasn't sure where to put them.

The U.S. Postal Service removed the collection box outside the building that all the doctors used after a truck damaged it, she said, and has no plans to return it because, a postal official said, it wasn't used enough.

She personally handed the invoices to their letter carrier. "But we're not happy at all," she said, adding that everybody in the building signed a petition that is on its way to the Baltimore postmaster.

The three collection boxes are among 31 in the Towson area the Postal Service removed in the last month, according to spokeswoman Yvette Singh.

The Postal Service runs annual tests on boxes in the Baltimore District -- including 136 in Towson tested in July -- to see if the operating costs are justified, she said.

"The number of collection boxes, their location and the frequency of collection service depend primarily on the mailing patterns and the volume of mail generated by the individual community," Singh said.

"When these and other conditions change, collection service is modified and adapted accordingly, as the United States Postal Service has been mandated to run as efficiently as possible while still providing quality service to our customers."

The minimum daily average is 25 pieces of mail, she said. But a weeklong density test performed July 7-12 revealed the amount of mail placed in the box at Aigburth and Knollwood was "very small, an average of about six to 10 pieces a day."

Granted, more mail is deposited at Christmastime, she said, but as a result of the changing lifestyles of Americans, collection boxes are no longer the primary way people deposit mail.

"Most people mail their letters, bills and other correspondence from their workplace or home," she said. "Customers are also paying their bills on-line and sending correspondence via e-mail."

Singh also said the Postal Service maintains at least one box in every square mile of a residential area.

But customers also can simply give their outgoing letters or packages to their letter carrier, she said.

"The Postal Service has made it more convenient for customers to take care of their postal needs without leaving the comfort of their homes and/or businesses," she noted.

Some Knollwood-Donnybrook residents would forgo that comfort.

"Certainly, when it involves mailing a check, you don't want to just stick it in your mail slot; that's dangerous," Bob Vaughan said.

And France said even though she drives to the post office once a day to take care of her business needs, she liked to walk up the street to the box to mail a letter just to get away from her computer.

Gwen Vaughan said, "Everybody walks there." The closest other mailboxes, including the one at Towson Place, require driving, she said.

It's not just the cost of gasoline, she said. Having to drive counters the walkability that Baltimore County is promoting.

"And this is one of the few walking neighborhoods in Towson."

Fay Citerone, president of the Knollwood-Donnybrook Community Association, is taking a wait-and-see attitude. She asked past president Judy Gregory to post a sign at the site explaining what had happened to the box and giving residents the post office number if they want to complain about it.

Meanwhile, Rick Zapf, another resident, said he was surprised to hear that only six to 10 pieces of mail a day were going into the box. "People around here use it," he said. "It's the only one around. I see drivers stopped there all the time."

Indeed, the Roesner-Westhead family, just down the street, put up their own sign explaining how the amount of traffic in front of their house was reduced now that there is no longer a mailbox.

One family member has seen three traffic accidents -- cars being rear-ended when they pulled away from the median strip after depositing mail, the sign said.

"The combination of a median and a mailbox is not a good one," the sign said. "We are happy the mailbox has been removed."

Those who disagree about this or any of the 30 other removals can call the Loch Raven branch of the Postal Service at 410-828-1430.

"Management will review all inquiries and make a decision" Singh said.

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user comments (1)

user carson says...

Our mailbox is slated to be removed too (corner of Charmuth and Pickett) and I hate it. The mailbox is maybe the only reason someone has for walking around the neighborhood. Countless times I've greeted a neighbor while they are going to the box and I'm walking my dog. It's just part of the neighborhood and I hate that it's leaving. I find it difficult to believe that it's not cost-effective. Doesn't the mail carrier pick up the mail from the box when s/he delivers the mail?

Posted 9:40 AM, 08.07.08

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