The post office on South University Avenue, along with others nationally, is slated for closure under a plan by the United States Postal Service (USPS) to save itself from bankruptcy.

There are many reasons that the post office finds itself in this unhappy situation; the decrease in snail mail usage is said to be at the top of the list. However, one must wonder about any business plan which suggests the closure of highly profitable offices like ours.

It’s never easy dealing with a huge entity like the postal service. Just getting your message into the correct hands can be a daunting experience.

The South University Area Association (SUAA), representing its more than 40 business members, wrote on April 23, 2009 to the USPS Consumer Advocate, Delores Killette, (Washington DC) and to Nancy Rettinhouse (Detroit) regarding rumors that the South Unversity Branch of USPS would be closed. We received assurances from them that there were no such plans.

Since then an evaluation team was sent to the branch, at the slowest possible time of the year, July. A time directly after the Ann Arbor Art Fairs when businesses were taking a well-deserved rest, most residents in the area were on vacation and the University of Michigan was on summer break.

As a result the South University branch was included on the list of offices being considered for closure.

In addition to SUAA's efforts, which included petitions from the business and residential communities, the Ann Arbor City Council announced its opposition to the post office closing, and U.S. Congressman John Dingell of the 15th congressional district of Michigan released a statement in favor of keeping the heavily-needed station open.

"This post office is located in the heart of the University of Michigan's campus, serving the needs of thousands of students who have limited transportation options," said U.S. Rep. Dingell in his statement. "I strongly urge the USPS to continue operating the South University Post Office." An area like ours, growing in density, is a perfect place for USPS to fulfill its mission as a community partner. “This post office branch makes it possible for downtown and near downtown residents to accomplish their postal errands without a car, which reinforces our community value to have as walkable a city as possible” said Susan Pollay, Executive Director of Ann Arbor’s Downtown Develeopment Authority.

We sincerely hope that this measure will not be deemed necessary but although the list has been culled from its original 700 the threatened branch office remains in jeopardy. The list will be cut one more time before a final decision on the fate of our post offices is announced by USPS on Oct. 2. Citizens wishing to join with us in our effort to sustain the Post Office on South University may contact us at southu@gmail.com or visit our Web site at www.a2southu.com.