Postal service removes 126 mailboxes in region

The US Postal Service has removed 126 of its familiar blue, street corner mail collection boxes from nine communities north of Boston in the last several months as part of an ongoing national effort to save money.

Haverhill lost the most boxes, 31 of its 102, followed by Beverly, which lost 26 of its 74.

Many of the boxes had been in place for more than 50 years, according to Robert Cannon, spokesman for the Postal Service's Eastern Massachusetts district. He said new developments and changes in traffic patterns have more of an impact on mail volumes than other factors, including the Internet. Few have been added in the region, he said.

''While it is true that first class mail is down by 6 percent nationwide due to the Internet, I don't think you can say definitively in very many cases that this is why any of these boxes were removed," Cannon said. ''Businesses come and go and new subdivisions go up."

Officials north of Boston say they have heard few complaints about the boxes' removal, although similar actions stirred controversy in nearby Lowell and North Andover.

''If people are upset, they haven't come to the mayor's office to complain," said Brian Elworthy, an aide to Haverhill Mayor James J. Fiorentini. ''This is news to me."

''We got a single phone call from a resident who was upset," said Kate Sullivan, an aide to Salem Mayor Stanley J. Usovicz, whose city lost 19 of its 80 boxes. ''We did call our postmaster after we received that one complaint and were informed they had removed some under-utilized boxes."

Cannon confirmed the mail collection boxes were taken out of service as a cost-saving measure after an analysis of mail volumes indicated these particular boxes were not well used. He could not provide an estimate of how much money has been saved.

''The rule of thumb is that each box should receive a minimum of 25 pieces between collections," Cannon said. ''But that is more of a guideline than a hard and fast rule. We also take into consideration location and whether or not there are elderly housing units nearby."

Changing development patterns and economic cycles also have played a role.

For instance, three of the 12 boxes removed in North Andover were located at the now shuttered Lucent manufacturing plant at 1600 Osgood St.

''We did leave one in place there," said Cannon, adding that Lowell also lost several boxes which were located outside now vacant commercial districts.

Cannon said the reaction to the sweep has varied. For instance, while no one complained about the three missing mail boxes outside the Lucent plant, North Andover residents and town leaders were quick to complain about the loss of drop boxes at four other locations, Cannon said.

Two of those have been restored, and the Board of Selectmen is lobbying to have boxes reinstalled at three other busy locations.

Cannon said the Postal Service appreciates customer feedback because often there are factors at play they can't readily ascertain unless they hear from the mailing public.

Lowell's City Council also asked for a second look at the specific reasons 64 boxes were removed there. That prompted the Postal Service to increase the number of daily mail carrier pickup times to some businesses, Cannon said.

''Instead of reinstalling the collection boxes outside their businesses, we offered to send in a second mail carrier at a specific time of day to a few who had mail volumes that warranted that service," Cannon said. ''That has been a solution that has brought satisfaction in Lowell, according to the postmaster."

Cannon said no other mail collection boxes are slated for removal in the Eastern Massachusetts district in the next year.

Beverly Mayor William Scanlon said he appreciated that the Postal Service was staying on top of changes in mailing trends.

''Frankly our citizens have accepted this change very well. There have been no complaints," Scanlon said. ''Sounds like to me they are doing what we are doing, looking for every possible way to save a buck. Maybe it is better to have a few less mail boxes than having the price of a stamp go up."

Caroline Louise Cole can be reached at cole@globe.com