Part of this Wichita neighborhood has lost its mail service. What happens next?
Two blocks in the College Hill neighborhood have been stripped of their mail delivery service, and residents will soon have to walk to a clustered mailbox to collect their mail.
Mail service was halted after three different U.S. Postal Service mail carriers were charged by a dog in the area, according to neighbors and a postal inspector.
A Postal Service letter to residents dated Dec. 3 said a mail carrier was attacked by a loose or unrestrained dog while delivering mail on Nov. 29. The letter was shared with The Eagle by resident Carol Bacon.
Postal inspector and spokesperson Paul Shade confirmed that mail delivery in the 300 and 400 block of South Terrace has been suspended. Soon, neighborhood collection boxes will be installed. Those are freestanding structures with multiple mailboxes and parcel compartments that are individually locked.
“With this particular dog, there have been three different instances where it has charged at three different carriers on the route,” Shade said in a phone call. “And because this has gotten so bad and it’s occurred multiple times, they have permanently suspended mail delivery until they can install the cluster [mail] boxes.”
“I don’t expect a mail carrier to go into a dangerous area,” said Bacon, who has lived in the same College Hill home in the 300 block of South Terrace for over 40 years. “If you’re trying to protect them [mail carriers], tell them, tell the neighborhood association or tell somebody that’s going to be affected. Please talk to your neighbors.”
She said the last time her mail was delivered was Dec. 3.
Shade said dog attacks usually get resolved after the Postal Service gets in touch with the owner.
“They’ll suspend it for a week with enough time to be able to contact the owner of the dog and make sure it won’t happen again,” Shade said. “But because that process has already taken place, and yet the dog is still getting out and chasing people that they have to go this route.”
No appeal process
Shade did not have an exact date when the cluster boxes would be installed. A third-party contractor will do the work.
“We do not have a time frame as it is in the hands of the contractor at this point,” Shade said in a follow-up email Dec. 31.
For now, affected residents must drive to Munger post office at 1314 North Oliver to collect their mail.
“It’s 20 minutes in line, if they have an extra person, they will come out and say, ‘if you’re not purchasing anything but just picking up mail, come up here,’ “ Bacon said. “There’s at least 10 people in front of me, and they all have 10 packages. I assume it’s worse because it’s holiday time.”
Bacon added: “I’d pay a dollar a day to have my mail delivered. Other than getting in my car, it’s not just about gas and mileage, it’s a good 40 minutes by the time you get it done. Cramming that into the day is not easy.”
Shade acknowledged that there is no appeal process for residents. He could not say how many other Wichita neighborhoods currently have a mail delivery halt or could be at risk of losing their mail delivery service.
“Wichita is no different than any other city in that these are infrequent of an occurrence,” Shade said. “As to how many times this happens, I don’t know.”
‘It’s dealt with’
Jack Patton, president of the College Hill Neighborhood Association, has lived in College Hill for over a decade and is a retired public works engineer.
He is familiar with the mail suspension on Terrace.
“I have contacted some people over in east patrol and it is in fact a known issue,” Patton said in a phone call. “Same person, same dog and I have spoke with somebody at the post office and they [dog owner] have received various warnings. After X amount of warnings, then it’s dealt with.”
Patton said he knows the resident and dog at the center of the issue. He said several neighbors have spoken with him about the problem.
“The neighbor is well aware of the situation, from what I gathered,” Patton said. “I guess he figured if it was ignored it would go away.”
Patton was told it could take several weeks to get the cluster boxes installed.
“This decision was not made lightly,” Shade said. “This is a situation where no one would want to go to work and have to run from a dog. It’s not fair to ask them to go do to their job risking any harm.”