Letter to Postmaster General Brennan - It's Time To Step Up, Be A Good Neighbor, & Take The First Steps To Remedy The Dangerous Mistake USPS Created

Letter

Dear Postmaster General Brennan,

I write on behalf of the residents of the Town of Amherst, New York, and surrounding communities, following the ongoing reports and dozens of accidents brought about by the hazardous traffic configuration at the United States Postal Service (USPS) facility on Sheridan Drive. According to local officials who have reached out to my office for help, since 2011, there have been dozens of accidents resulting from the poor design of the current configuration of traffic flow for postal customers and Amherst residents. This, compounded by the high volume of both automobile and foot traffic in and around that plaza, has led to an increasingly impractical and extremely dangerous situation for motorists and residents of the surrounding community. To rectify this situation, I urge the USPS to immediately sit down with town and village officials, local stakeholders, and other impacted businesses in the plaza, and work with them to establish a solution to reconfigure, this parking lot to restore both safety and peace of mind to motorists and pedestrians alike.

The current issues originated in 2011, when the retail operations for the local USPS moved from a nearby plaza into the existing postal distribution facility the corner of Sheridan Drive, a major commercial thoroughfare in the Buffalo-Niagara region, and Essjay Road, an equally busy corridor. Directly across from the post office is a quiet, residential neighborhood. Previously, the principal role of this facility was for mailbox and package retrieval, which garnered significantly less foot and vehicular traffic.

As the USPS facility's operations changed, so too did the traffic configuration of the parking lot. Two exits turned into one very confusing exit which only allows vehicles to turn right onto Sheridan Drive. The particular configuration has resulted in dangerous conditions and over thirty traffic accidents since the 2011 reconfiguration. It is my understanding that USPS recently commissioned a public study that concluded the traffic configuration at the Sheridan Drive facility had no impact on the ensuing traffic issues. Given the accident data presented to my office, and what I have heard from numerous officials and many residents, I fundamentally disagree with that assessment. It is imperative that USPS meet with local officials, stakeholders, and other plaza tenants to develop a realistic, near and long-term plan to remedy the glaring issues with the lot configuration.

As the accident count continues to climb, Amherst residents have been patient, understanding, and accommodating enough over the past few years while waiting for these issues to improve. It is time for USPS to step up, be a good neighbor, and take the first steps to remedy the dangerous mistake that they created. Thank you for your attention to this important issue.

Sincerely,

Source