New strategies include keeping all post offices open with reduced hours and establishing "village post offices" that would place a post office within a local business.
The Indian Orchard Post Office was among those being considered for closure by the U.S. Postal Service.Western Massachusetts residents who spoke out against the closing of their local post offices can breath a sigh of relief.
The U.S. Postal Service on Wednesday canceled a plan to close thousands of rural post offices after May 15, proposing to keep them open with shorter operating hours.
“We listened to the community and this is what they wanted,” said Christine G. Dugas, spokeswoman for the Postal Service’s Connecticut Valley District.
Dugas said one strategy will be to keep all post offices open with reduced hours. Another option will be to establish "village post offices" that would place a post office within a local business and house P.O. boxes within those businesses to provide extended hours for customers.
“Starting after Labor Day we will begin meeting with individual communities to see what their preferences are for their post office,” she said.
The new strategy will take two years to implement and will save the post office half a billion dollars a year, she said.
Before the new strategy was announced, five post offices in Springfield were being considered for closure, including Brightwood, 3065 Main St.; Colonial Station, 1149 Main St.; Mason Square, 914 State St.; Tower Square, 1500 Main St., and Indian Orchard, 19 Oak St.
In January state Rep. Cheryl Coakley-Rivera D-Springfield, encouraged North End residents to oppose the closing of the Brightwood branch during a public hearing. Residents in Indian Orchard even started a Facebook page in support of their local branch.
“We are trying to provide the services our customers want while at the same time cutting costs to address the financial issues faced by the U.S. Postal Service,” Dugas said. “The needs of our customers are changing. Many people pay bills and other things online and there are so many places to buy stamps. We want to efficiently provide the services people need.”
For a full listing of branch hours visit www.usps.com.