In the continuing saga of West Seattle’s drive-up/ride-up mailboxes … Carey sent the photo tonight with word that the Westwood Village Post Office‘s outdoor mailbox is out of service. So you’ll either need to walk your mail into the lobby, or use the box outside the West Seattle Junction Post Office (4412 California SW).
One thing of note regarding the new outside mailbox at the West Seattle station:
The last pickup of the day on weekdays used to be 5 PM. It is now 11:30 AM.
Well, we all know what that means….It will be at least 2 years until it is fixed. :( sad.
Between flipped cars and damaged mail boxes, all I can do is shake my head.
Is there any surveillance video on that cherished but useful relic? I’d wager there’s someone local who just can’t stand mail, and it’d be nice to let them know that there are rules, man. At least wait until after Christmas to inconvenience your neighbors and cost what must be a small fortune (given the timetable). That’s just plain mean.
Wasn’t this one out of commission a few years ago? A fire maybe. Also, a truck hit the building IIRC.
Yes, and that’s why the opening line – both outdoor mailboxes have had trouble in recent years. Two problems in 2015 at Westwood, second one for almost four months: https://westseattleblog.com/2015/12/followup-westwood-post-offices-drive-up-mailbox-returns/
The truck mishap was in 2013.
https://westseattleblog.com/2013/05/crash-at-westwood-village-post-office/
About a month ago I tried to mail a letter from the new mailbox in the Junction. The box had been tampered with so that mail would not fall down into the box, but get jammed up within easy reach. I think these boxes are being sabotaged to facilitate mail theft.
Can anyone describe what happened to the mail box? It’s hard to tell from the photo. I am assuming vandalism. Meanwhile, last week I found out that the interior mail boxes on the east wall had been broken into. I am talking about the two boxes set up for wrong P.O. box delivery or wrong recipient. These were small wooden boxes on the wall that were locked and people would put misrouted mail in them. Someone forced the locks on both.
I think these boxes are being sabotaged to facilitate mail theft.
This is why we can’t have nice things.
Remember the good old days when a couple of local guys would just deliver the beat down and problem solved?
Clearly it’s time to upgrade the mailbox site. Make it like an ATM machine and build some kind of structure around it adding cameras. This can cost a heck of a lot and sure can help with someone coming by and damaging the box or stealing mail. Either this or it’s time to redesign how we deposit our outgoing mail.
Why doesn’t the post office just do a routine daily check of the mail slot to make sure it’s clear to deposit mail. Cameras should be on the postal building and directed at the drive-through mail box or an alarm set in the mail box if someone is tampering with it. We all have to beat the criminals at their own games…I think we’re smarting than the criminals.
How about remembering those not so very long ago days when we had mail drop-off boxes not more than a block or two from our homes and they were never damaged or broken into? Bring back those good old days.
I haven’t used that box since my Mom’s birthday card burned up in it a couple of years ago. I take the time to run it inside and drop in the indoor slot. It’s sad and less convenient, but I just don’t trust the outdoor box anymore.
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