People with disabilities say they are tired of waiting on the back loading dock of the Port Townsend Post Office for service and plan to protest the historic building's inaccessibility Friday on its front, side and other steps.
A petition drive to the U.S. Postmaster General also is under way demanding "true accessibility at our uptown post office along with a branch post office or Post Office Express in the business district" rather than a replacement system with limited services.
The petition and protest come two months after a contract post office substation closed at Swain's Outdoor downtown, forcing people with disabilities to use the main post office on Washington Street. Located in the original Customs House (1893), the post office can only be entered by navigating stairs - so it is considered inaccessible to people with impaired mobility.
Swain's gave up a U.S. Postal Service contract after a decade because, managers said, the business was subsidizing the post office and postal officials did not want to negotiate a new contract for more money.
Bonnie Bolster, who needs to use a walker and has health issues related to multiple sclerosis, is coordinating the protest and petition drive, which she calls the Port Townsend Coalition for Full and Equal Postal Service.
Bolster said yesterday she's collected several hundred signatures on the petition so far and plans to continue the drive through the end of September. She also sought and received the support of the City of Port Townsend Monday night.
Two demonstrations, one from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and another from 3 to 5 p.m., are planned for Friday.
"With invaluable advice and support from DASH [Disability Awareness Starts Here], Jefferson County's disability advocacy organization, members are reaching out to the community to further their campaign to end the exclusion of the physically impaired from full and equal postal service in Port Townsend," Bolster wrote in explaining the protest.
Postal response
Ernie Swanson, a spokesman for the U.S. Postal Service in Seattle, said last week that the post office wants "to be easily accessible to all our customers.
"We happen to be in a very old building in Port Townsend that is on the National Historic Register, which limits what we can do to the building," Swanson said.
Swanson said the post office still is trying to be in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act and has retained outside professional engineers to examine the building to determine what is feasible and legal.
Several days later, Swanson reported to The Leader that he had learned the Postal Service is not covered by the Americans with Disabilities Act. He said, "The Architectural Barriers Act of 1968 is applicable to the post office."
Swanson did not respond to inquiries about the differences between the two laws and how they relate to Bolster's concerns.
Swanson did say that postal facilities personnel in Washington, D.C., as well as those in Denver, Colo., are involved in the issue and would be engaged in decisions, as would be the Seattle district manager.
Further, Swanson said the Postal Service has submitted a letter to the Washington State Historic Preservation Officer to "receive clarification on what we could or could not do to the Port Townsend Post Office building to make it accessible to disabled individuals."
Swanson did not say when the Postal Service sent the letter. He said the Postal Service has not received a response.
State Historic Preservation Officer Allyson Brooks was out of the office this week and unavailable for comment.
Swanson also said five parties submitted letters of interest for a substation - also known as a contract postal unit (CPU) - in downtown Port Townsend. He said that not all of them seem to meet the basic criteria. He said the deadline for returning the application packages is Sept. 29.
Ideally, Swanson said the goal was to have a contract station up and running before the busy holiday season.
"A word of caution: Just because we have interested parties doesn't necessarily mean we will be able to award a contract. There are certain criteria that must be met before we award a contract," Swanson said without elaborating on the criteria.
Special help
Swanson also reiterated what Port Townsend Postmaster Cindy Bryant has said in the past. Bryant was gone and not available for comment yesterday.
"The Port Townsend postmaster is attempting to do whatever is possible to accommodate disabled customers. She or one of her employees will meet disabled customers behind the post office to sell them stamps and accept their parcels or other mailings. They can also pick up accountable mail items (those requiring a signature) in the same way," Swanson wrote in response to a number of questions from The Leader.
Bolster says that is not a good option.
"Those who cannot go up steps are told to go to the loading dock in back of the post office to wait for someone to come out - the call button is located up some steps - then wait again for someone to conclude the transaction," Bolster wrote.
"The area is unsafe for all pedestrians but especially for those in wheelchairs who are at a lower height and less visible. In fact the ADA prohibits handicapped access in such areas for that very reason," Bolster said.
Bolster related an incident that happened recently to a woman who tried to call the post office to arrange a delivery time for a package that postal workers tried to deliver. At first, she got busy signals. Then she was told someone would have to pick up the package at the post office. Bolster said the woman asked a friend for help but he took his time and when he got to the post office, the package had been sent back.
"Like many of the disabled, this woman chooses to resist being isolated and marginalized. She can still drive to the post office and would have picked up the package personally right away, but she can't get inside. She never got that package," Bolster wrote of why she is pursuing the petition, why she is leading a protest and why she wants the historic post office to be accessible to all.
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