WAYNEDALE POST OFFICE PETITION DRIVE SECURES 1,000 SIGNATURES

A grassroots Petition Drive by neighbors in the Waynedale area has secured over one thousand signatures asking the Postal Service not to close the Waynedale Post Office at 7025 Old Trail Road.

The Petitions were presented by Waynedale resident and Petition Drive coordinator Billie Rykard to Wayne Township Trustee Richard A. Stevenson Sr. at a news conference at the Trustee’s Office. Ms. Rykard is the President of the Belle Vista/Allendale Neighborhood Association.

The Trustee’s Office sent the Petitions to the District Office of the Postal Service in Indianapolis and delivered copies of the Petitions to the Postmaster at the Downtown Fort Wayne Post Office. Another copy of the Petitions was sent Congressman Mark Souder.

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“The Waynedale Post Office is the only retail Postal facility in Southwest Fort Wayne,” Trustee Stevenson said. “Its closing would force all southwest residents to use the already busy Downtown Post Office.”

The Waynedale Branch Post Office has been on all the “Hit Lists” released by the Postal Service of recommended branch closings. The Postal Service has recommended the closing of Waynedale as a cost cutting measure.

“Many seniors and other residents of the Waynedale area would have difficulty getting to the Downtown Post Office,” Trustee Stevenson noted. The location on Old Trail Road is centrally located in the Waynedale area and is within walking distance for many residents of Waynedale. The Waynedale Post Office on Old Trail Road has been in continuous operation for almost 40 years.

The Postal Service also had proposed closing the Diplomat Post Office, which would have left the entire south part of Fort Wayne without any retail Post Office. Postal Service Officials in Indianapolis recently told Trustee Stevenson’s Office that the Postal Service may have changed its mind about closing Diplomat. However, nothing has been finalized.

Another proposal the Postal Service is considering is remodeling the sorting facility, known as Gabriel Station, located 6013 Bluffton Road, to include retail window service.

“While consolidating the Waynedale Post Office into the Gabriel Station is not the best solution, it would be better than leaving Southwest residents with no retail Postal service,” Trustee Stevenson said.

Ms. Rykard said if the Waynedale branch is consolidated with the Gabriel Station, the Waynedale Post Office should not be closed until Gabriel is fully-remodeled with Post Office boxes and retail windows. Waynedale residents with Post Office boxes should not have to change their Post Office Box numbers if the boxes are moved to the Gabriel Station, Ms. Rykard added. She also expressed concern that Waynedale residents would not be able to get to the Bluffton Road facility without driving.