Mangled mailbox at Westwood Village post office, again

Thanks to Colby for tweeting the photo and tip – the drive-up/ride-up mailbox outside the Westwood Village post office is out of service again. This is less than four months after the last time it was damaged and removed; that time, it was back after less than a month, but some previous damage-related removals have lasted a lot longer.

48 Replies to "Mangled mailbox at Westwood Village post office, again"

  • WSlite December 14, 2021 (12:08 pm)

    Geez that’s awful! I just dropped off mail in that box late last night, hopefully it still gets mailed out. Awful that someone damaged it again, how frustrating. Can’t they just take dents out of box and still use? Still looks in decent condition from photo.

    • Pelicans December 14, 2021 (1:19 pm)

      Met Market in Admiral recently installed (more) big pillars to keep drivers/vehicles from going directly into the alley/crosswalk. I actually misjudged my back-up one night years ago and dented my car, brushing past one of them.Wouldn’t this be a simple fix to have concrete-filled pillars around these mail boxes?Where and how are these guys getting their DL’s???😕

  • flimflam December 14, 2021 (12:09 pm)

    This is actually kind of amusing in a pathetic way.

  • miws December 14, 2021 (12:10 pm)

    • JeffK December 14, 2021 (1:15 pm)

      I think they will still find a way to damage the box itself.  Maybe make the box out of 1″ armor plate also.

    • AMD December 14, 2021 (5:54 pm)

      Needs this one:  

      • waikikigirl December 14, 2021 (6:48 pm)

        AMD…LOL!!! Good one :>)

    • 1994 December 14, 2021 (6:30 pm)

      Yep – they need to install the WWV drive up mailbox just like the one at the Burien post office. It has a couple of those giant yellow posts in front of it but the mailbox is behind a fence!

  • miws December 14, 2021 (12:12 pm)

    Poor thing is even in that “OOOMPH!” took a punch to the gut pose… —Mike

  • sw December 14, 2021 (12:18 pm)

    Said it before – A nice steel pipe/concrete bollard installed on the NW corner of the mailbox pad would prevent this from ever happening again.

  • Insertname December 14, 2021 (12:19 pm)

    Curses! 

  • K December 14, 2021 (12:21 pm)

    If this is due to people driving into it, couldn’t they put up some concrete barrier around it to protect it?Sigh.  This is why we can’t have nice things. 

  • Max Power December 14, 2021 (12:39 pm)

    Some people shouldn’t be allowed to drive.  That could easily have been a pedestrian.

    • 2 Much Whine December 14, 2021 (6:56 pm)

      Pedestrians are typically not human piñatas filled with mail that someone wants to steal.

  • Julia December 14, 2021 (12:42 pm)

    Wonder if they’ll fix the giant pothole that you had to drive into to mail things.

  • Westwood December 14, 2021 (12:52 pm)

    And this s why we can’t have nice things. 

    • Pelicans December 14, 2021 (1:21 pm)

      K and Westwood, Ditto 🥴

  • Bikes are the problem December 14, 2021 (12:59 pm)

    Perhaps it was a bicycle rider that swerved off the sidewalk. Bikes are the real problem in West Seattle as many commenters have already observed elsewhere in the blog.

  • StopCuttingDownTrees December 14, 2021 (1:34 pm)

    A perfect example of why I don’t send anything in the mail anymore.

  • 22blades December 14, 2021 (1:40 pm)

    I said this before (California PO) so many times, I ‘m tired of it. Why don’t they install Steel Bollards around the boxes. They WILL get hit. Better a stout bollard than the box. What is the problem???????? This is such a no brainer. Here, let me help.GRAINGER APPROVED 42 in Fixed Carbon Steel Bollard with 4 1/2 in Outside Dia., Safety Yellow – 1GUD6|1GUD6 – Grainger

    • USPSEE December 14, 2021 (1:53 pm)

      But the Government/USPS doesn’t have the extra money to buy things like that

      • 1994 December 14, 2021 (6:32 pm)

        The Burien post office has the bollards, and the box is behind the fence where the mail trucks park.

  • momosmom December 14, 2021 (1:49 pm)

    It’s more than likely someone ramming it to try and steal the mail instead of having to have to drive neighborhood to neighborhood to steal.What they should do is have a drive up window-slot on the building where you just toss your mail into it.

    • Frog December 14, 2021 (3:17 pm)

      I was wondering that too.  Probably one of those stolen pickup trucks we always read about now has a big dent in the bumper.

    • High Point December 15, 2021 (8:46 am)

      Based on the VERY large picture at the top of the article, this does not look to fit your narrative against people living in or below poverty. Honestly, I’m surprised it too so long for a WS resident to make such a silly fear mongering comment.

      • flimflam December 15, 2021 (5:12 pm)

        Poor people aren’t criminals, criminals are criminals…

        • Admyrl Byrd December 16, 2021 (12:01 am)

          Cars don’t dent mailboxes, people do. The only thing that will stop a bad guy with a car, is a good guy with a car.

  • JR December 14, 2021 (1:51 pm)

    Instead of being required to back around a corner for your field drivers test, lets eliminate that procedure and make it a requirement to pull up to a post office mailbox without hitting it! All agreed say “I”.

  • Beto December 14, 2021 (1:55 pm)

    In a city where winters are so gray and rainy and most people don’t know how to use their daylight running lights -especially Prius drivers- it doesn’t surprise me that they don’t know how to drive either, so they keep knocking the mailbox constantly.

  • eric December 14, 2021 (2:04 pm)

    mailbox in crisis, call 911.,,,….no worries, I’m sure it will be replaced quickly. LOL

  • Jeepney December 14, 2021 (2:06 pm)

    Wonder if this is related to the severely damaged white car in front of Target on Barton street?MISW is spot on, bollards are needed.

  • NotOnHolden December 14, 2021 (2:09 pm)

    Has anyone given serious thought to this mail box being cursed?  Also, bollards, install some bollards.

  • Joan December 14, 2021 (2:15 pm)

    Well, I guess I know I where I won’t be putting my holiday cards. 

  • Dale December 14, 2021 (2:31 pm)

    Maybe if/when they install a barrier, they could fill the axle-busting pothole directly in front of the box.  It’s been there for months.

  • Gill & Alex December 14, 2021 (2:44 pm)

    Maybe doing nothing to protect the PO box is part of the “cost savings” that Postmaster General and Chief Executive Officer, Louis DeJoy, has been promoting for the U.S. Postal Service?

    • Cd December 14, 2021 (3:28 pm)

      It happened during the Obama administration to the Westwood drive up box and to the drive up box on California. Someone even drove into the Westwood PO building. This is not a Trump  administration thing. 

  • tom December 14, 2021 (3:32 pm)

    i think it may be caused by the same thing which flips cars

  • KT December 14, 2021 (4:22 pm)

    In the mean time, you can put outgoing mail in any locked cluster mailbox in your hood.  They all have a spot for outgoing mail.  If you look on your neighborhood walks, you will soon those locked cluster boxes are all over the place.

  • Jort December 14, 2021 (5:48 pm)

    I’m guessing it was not a bicycle or pedestrian that caused this level of damage? Here again we see the remarkable costs that automobiles place on our society in ways some can hardly comprehend. 

  • neighbor December 14, 2021 (5:52 pm)

    How about we put the replacement mailbox in front of the police station instead? 

  • trickycoolj December 14, 2021 (10:46 pm)

    Days since last Westwood Mailbox smashing: 0

    • John December 16, 2021 (3:20 am)

      At least it wasn’t set on fire this time. Although who knows how long it’ll take to replace it. I think it’s really a shame especially with the age of this post office if it wasn’t damaged / destroyed so many times we could potentially have a box out there dating back quite a ways

  • PostalBoi December 15, 2021 (4:46 am)

    I went to this box Sun, Dec 12 to drop my bill payments. It was chock full in the drive through slot, so I didn’t drop my mail. I’m guessing this was intentional to get the box open and steal the mail. When I went back Dec 14 (later than this pic) the unloading door was sprung open, so I assume they got all the mail.Now I’ll only drop my bill payments inside.

    • tom December 15, 2021 (5:05 pm)

      sure seems like a simple back up into box situation…are the handicapped spaces still directly in line with the box? 

    • Colby December 16, 2021 (6:47 pm)

      The door was closed when I took the picture…actually jammed shut. So I am assuming Postal workers had to pry it open to get the mail out, and could not shut it again because of the damage. 

  • AlkiBean December 16, 2021 (7:44 am)

    Well shoot…had planned on going there today to drop of Christmas cards.  Our mailbox on 63rd SW on Alki Point disappeared again…for I think the third time…without any notice.  Anyone know the story?  I doubt we’ll ever see it again.  :-(  

    • WSB December 16, 2021 (10:06 am)

      It hasn’t come back since last disappearance. USPS refuses to answer inquiried. If it had been a permanent removal, it should have been posted ahead of time, per USPS policy.

      • WSB December 16, 2021 (12:43 pm)

        …and we just got a text that it’s back today!

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