GILROY
– The alley between Fourth and Fifth Streets where postal
patrons access drive-up mailboxes is littered with
”
No Post Office Parking
”
signs in front of neighboring houses and businesses. Traffic
through the alley and post office parking lot becomes jammed with
cars during high-traffic times, such as the lunch hour or just
after 5 p.m.
By Lori Stuenkel
GILROY – The alley between Fourth and Fifth Streets where postal patrons access drive-up mailboxes is littered with “No Post Office Parking” signs in front of neighboring houses and businesses. Traffic through the alley and post office parking lot becomes jammed with cars during high-traffic times, such as the lunch hour or just after 5 p.m.
The consensus around Gilroy is that the post office is far from perfect. The courteous clerks and quality of customer service aren’t a problem, but many residents say that long lines, scant parking and traffic back-ups are.
No changes to the post office are planned. Even if they were, it would likely be 15 years before Gilroyans saw a difference.
“It gets very busy, I mean really busy, every day,” said David Sharaf, a Gilroy resident for 36 years. “Parking is bad, too: Sometimes I circle the block two or three times looking for a spot.”
While government officials are aware of concerns about the post office and are eager to help, there is no quick or easy way to relieve the impact on the facility.
The most glaring roadblock to either expanding the current building or moving to a new location is that the United States Postal Service says there is no need.
“At this point, the existing Gilroy facility meets the needs of what we need to process,” said Postmaster Penny Yates. “We fit in this facility; we have room for growth.”
Overcrowding of carriers would be the only reason the USPS would look at giving Gilroy a new post office, and Yates said there is room for carriers to cover nine additional routes, which equals about 4,500 new households.
Post office keeps pace with growth
Gilroy’s housing permits will allow 3,450 residences to be built in the city during the next 10 years.
As long as there is capacity inside the post office, which funnels roughly 2 million pieces of mail a week, the process for a new facility will not be triggered, regardless of the traffic outside.
“Because the post office still has the capacity to be able to handle that current population, there’s no reason to look beyond it,” said Augustine Ruiz, postal spokesman for the Bay/Valley District that includes South County and the East Bay.
The parking lot has 11 spaces, but there are at least seven additional curb spaces nearby, and free parking across the street. When the parking spaces are full, turnover occurs pretty quickly. Still, neighbors often find their property blocked by post office patrons.
“They always try to park here,” said Isaac Rivera, who lives next door to the post office. His landlord posted “No parking” signs six months ago and the problem has lessened, he said, but it hasn’t gone away.
Yates said each U.S. Postal Service district reviews post offices annually for safety issues, but does not look at future growth to project where new facilities are needed.
Some say that could be a problem for Gilroy, given that the process of getting a new post office could take 15 years once under way.
“This should have started years ago because of how long it takes,” said Ted Viola, a retired 38-year postal service employee and former postmaster in San Martin.
Yates agreed with the 15-year timeline. When she came to Gilroy in 1992, a detached facility to house carriers was on the table, but that plan fell by the wayside.
Viola, “very upset and disgusted with the post office situation here in Gilroy,” doesn’t mind.
If carriers were put in a separate facility, Gilroy customers would all still be using the Fourth and Eigleberry post office, and the parking and traffic problems would still exist.
Mayor Al Pinheiro said meeting with Yates to talk about planning for the post office’s future is “on his list of things to do.”
“Obviously, if there’s anything as a city that we can do to be a promoter of it, I would be very much in favor of that,” he said. “I’m sure (the current post office) suits Gilroy’s needs, and they’re doing the best they can with the facilities they have. But I would venture to say you probably won’t find a person who would disagree with the fact that we could use a better one, especially one that has parking.”
New post office possibilities
Since each postal district decides where new facilities go, Yates said she has little authority to make decisions.
Still, a postmaster does have the right to alert the USPS to a need for a new facility because “they’re the ones who know the community,” Ruiz said.
“We will send a team in there … and we’ll look at if there is a real need,” Ruiz said. “We’ll look at the growth, we’ll look at the size of the building, if it needs rebuilding.”
According to the General Plan, developed in 2001, the city’s infrastructure and services will be prepared to house 65,000 residents by 2020. That is, not counting the post office, which Former Mayor Tom Springer said was overlooked when the General Plan was drafted.
Springer has suggested several answers to the post office question, including development impact fees to pay for a new facility and using the existing Las Animas Elementary School campus – to be vacated in 2006 – as a better post office location.
Springer’s developer fee suggestion didn’t hold up with City Council, and Gilroyans have differing opinions on the post office location.
“I think we need a better facility, but it definitely needs to stay downtown,” said Sherri Stuart. “We need something that will contribute to our community.
“I would rather have a post office that is as old and decrepit as it is, as long as it stays downtown.”
Pinheiro agreed that the post office belongs downtown, suggesting Monterey Road as an ideal locale.
Matt Polomik, who lives in the northwest quadrant, would like to see a larger post office or smaller branch of the existing office in that part of Gilroy.
“For a town of this size, I would think it would have a more modern facility,” he said.
Contact your legislators
In the meantime, concerned citizens do have the right to contact the postal service or approach government officials.
“The (15th) district office has received some input from Gilroy citizens about the post office situation, most notably about the facility itself, the physical layout, it being difficult to access and cramped,” said Jay Staunton spokesman for Congressman Mike Honda. However, Honda is limited in what he can do.
Viola, the former postmaster, has offered his expertise to City Council as well.
“I know the post office, and I know how it works, and I know that it takes a long time,” he said.
Until that time comes, Yates is confident Gilroy’s post office will continue to meet the city’s needs – without the complaints of long lines.
During a “mystery shopper” audit this week, the post office received a perfect score. The total wait time: 45 seconds.
Thanks to automated sorting, postal services creeping up everywhere, including grocery stores, and more people using the Internet, the post office will stay one step ahead, she said.
Want a new post office in Gilroy? E-mail Mike Honda
Or contact him at:
U.S. Rep Michael Honda
1713 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515
Phone: 202-225-2631
Fax: 202-225-2699
District Office: 1999 South Bascom Ave. Suite 815,
Campbell, CA 95008
Phone: 408-558-8085
Fax: 408-558-8086
