As a result of a study conducted last year, the U.S. Postal Service has made the decision to close the Woods Park Station located at 35th and O St. in Lincoln on May 6, 2011.

“Given the extraordinary decline in mail volume — nearly 33 billion pieces in the past two years — the Postal Service is in a fiscal crisis and must take action to reduce the size of its retail and delivery network,” said Lincoln Postmaster Kerry Kowalski. “By consolidating, streamlining and adjusting our operations, the Postal Service becomes a more efficient and effective organization.”

Despite the closure, there are still several nearby postal locations in the area to serve customers. The Hy-Vee Contract Station at 5010 O Street is located just 1 mile from the Woods Park Station and can provide retail services to all customers. In addition, the Gateway Station, University Place Station and the Lincoln Main Post Office are all within 2.5 miles, all of which provide full retail and delivery services. Customer visits and revenue at the Woods Park Station have rapidly declined over the years, and the location, which used to house carriers, is now a large empty building.

“Given the underutilized space and the close proximity of these offices, we felt that we could close the Woods Park Station and continue to provide effective mail service to those impacted,” said Kowalski. Local mail delivery will not be affected.

Community input was received and carefully considered, but ultimately the decision was made to proceed with the closure. Woods Park Station is operated by 1 postal clerk, 1 maintenance employee and has 430 Post Office box holders. These customers will have their Post Office Box Service moved to the Gateway Station at 5945 R Street, and will be able to retain the same mailing address, or they can opt for home delivery or a Post Office Box at another location.

Woods Park Station will permanently close at 5:00 pm on May 6, 2011, and the affected career employees will be reassigned in accordance with applicable bargaining agreements and established repositioning processes. Customers are being notified of the closure through the mail and will be provided information on nearby postal locations.

Lincoln customers wishing to conduct postal business at a retail location in the city can continue to do so at one of 7 postal locations in the Lincoln area, as well as 6 contract postal unit locations inside all Lincoln Hy-Vee Stores and the University Store at 402 N 14th Street. Additionally there are more than 50 businesses in the Lincoln area that sell postage stamps -- places like grocery stores, pharmacies and banks.

Kowalski reminds postal customers they can skip the trip to the Post Office altogether and purchase stamps and shipping labels online from the comfort of home at usps.com. Customers can also request Free Package Pickup at usps.com. Postage stamps can also be purchased at 1-800-STAMP-24, thousands of banking ATMs and in more than 70,000 retail outlets across the nation. Customers can also order stamps by mail, simply request an order form from your carrier.

“Our commitment to customer service remains a top priority,” said Kowalski. “We will continue to provide the dependable service our customers need. We also will keep a balance with our critical focus on reducing costs so that service is not diminished.”

The Postal Service receives no tax subsidy for operating expenses and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations.