Bethesda post office hours change

The United States Postal Service has changed the hours of the Bethesda post office at 6900 Wisconsin Avenue. Until further notice, the post office will no longer be accessible 24 hours a day. Access to the post office lobby and its self-service functions will now only be available during business hours, 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM, on weekdays. The lobby will close an hour earlier, at 4:00, on Saturdays. And the lobby will be closed all day on Sundays.

"Unforeseen circumstances" are the reason for the change, according to the USPS. There are two issues that may explain the change, however. Most obvious, is the coronavirus outbreak. But related to that, the post office has recently become an unofficial hotel for homeless people, who sleep on the floors inside at night. This was already an unhealthy situation, but now imagine adding Covid-19 to the problem. People living unattended in the post office at night certainly exposed the USPS to legal liability, as well as post office users to potential criminal activity.

The new hours render the P.O. Boxes here essentially useless to people who work during the day. Hopefully they will restore wider hours after the pandemic has ended.

BETHESDA POST OFFICE PLANS TO REMOVE OUTDOOR MAILBOX IN AUGUST (PHOTOS)

The U.S. Post Office at 6900 Wisconsin Avenue in downtown Bethesda plans to remove one of its two outdoor mailboxes on August 21, 2014. According to a note posted on the mailbox, the removal is due to low demand. 

I can't argue with that. This is a minor issue compared to the many problems that remain after the debacle that was the Bethesda Post Office decision. No convenient parking. No functionally-accessible parking for the disabled near the post office entrance. No drive-by dropboxes for letters and packages. And not within easy walking distance of a major portion of downtown Bethesda.

Until the county can come to grips with the outstanding issues that remain with the new post office, a reduction to one mailbox seems trivial.

No convenient parking,
and no functionally-accessible
parking for the disabled

The consolidation of downtown
Bethesda's 2 post offices into
this location remains an
unsolved mystery

Who in Montgomery County
was involved in the selection
of 6900 Wisconsin Avenue, and
who wasn't involved?

7001 ARLINGTON ROAD LUXURY APARTMENTS BETHESDA CONSTRUCTION UPDATE (PHOTOS)

Let's check in at the site of the old Bethesda Post Office at 7001 Arlington Road, and see what progress they're making on the construction of the new mixed-use building with 140 apartments, and 7000 square feet of retail. Yesterday, they had a crane on-site assisting. This project is a stick-built building; hence, the site did not require a major excavation for underground parking.

FORMER ARLINGTON ROAD POST OFFICE - BETHESDA CONSTRUCTION UPDATE (PHOTOS)

Is this a Greek temple rising on the former site of the much-missed Arlington Road post office? No, it's a stick-built residential building going up. Which means the garage parking is above-ground, rather than underneath the building. We hope these piles of offerings will be pleasing to the gods, nevertheless.

The finished building will house 140 luxury apartments, and 7000 square feet of retail. For that retail, there will be a generous 35 parking spaces. One artist rendering showed 3 retail units on the building's ground floor: a boutique, and two restaurants.

Click on the photos to enlarge for greater detail:

Nope, no drive-thru
mail drop boxes here...

Aerial view of Arlington Road
and EuroMotorcars

The cranes in the background
are actually for another project,
The Darcy condos at
Bethesda Row

That's Upstairs at Bethesda Row
in the background

Chutes and Ladders

Runners and cyclists pass behind
the construction site on the
Capital Crescent Trail

7001 ARLINGTON ROAD LUXURY APARTMENTS BETHESDA CONSTRUCTION UPDATE (PHOTOS)

Construction continues slowly but surely on the former site of the Bethesda Post Office, at 7001 Arlington Road. Formerly known as Dwell Bethesda, the luxury apartment building is, for now, known simply as 7001 Arlington Road. Questions regarding local elected officials' involvement (or lack thereof) in the selection of the new post office, at 6900 Wisconsin Avenue, remain unanswered.

Just last week, I was informed of a disabled post office patron who required the assistance of a Good Samaritan to successfully mail letters, due to the lack of handicapped parking at 6900. Handicapped parking in a nearby garage is simply no substitute for truly functional spaces near the front door of the post office. Some two decades after the Americans with Disabilities Act, all citizens have a right to expect equal access to public facilities. 

The United States Postal Service has yet to publicly announce a location for a second Bethesda post office it plans to open. But let's go ahead and check out the progress of construction crews at the much-missed former post office site:

7001 ARLINGTON ROAD LUXURY APARTMENTS CONSTRUCTION UPDATE - FORMER BETHESDA POST OFFICE SITE (PHOTOS)

We gave up a convenient US Post Office for this?! Yes, ladies and gentlemen, here is the site of the former Arlington Road post office in downtown Bethesda.

There's no tower crane yet, but there is a lot of mud, junk and... possibly the least profitable Pepsi vending machine location in America.

This is the Pepsi Generation in MoCo: developers and politicians laughing all the way to the bank, while taxpayers are walking all the way to the poorly chosen new post office site.

The post office closure decision joins New Coke, the new MySpace and the Microsoft Zune in the "What were they thinking?" file.

USPS real estate guy at public meeting: "Uh, we need surface parking, and loading docks, and room to turn 18-wheelers around."

You just described the facility you just tore down! This is sheer lunacy.

BETHESDA POST OFFICE MEETING PRODUCES MANY QUESTIONS, FEW ANSWERS

"I KNOW NOTHING!"

Certainly Sgt. Schultz could have appreciated last night's United States Postal Service public meeting on the future Bethesda post office, which will be located... uh, can I get back to you on that?

Long rumored to be a retail post office in the 20816 zip code, and without PO boxes, the project is now even more vague.

Richard Hancock, a USPS real estate specialist who arrived from North Carolina to discuss the planned facility, conceded he was unfamiliar with Bethesda's zip codes and streets. But Hancock assured residents attending the meeting that he will quickly get up to speed.

Hancock said he would know what zip code(s) are under consideration by Monday. As of last night, the project has a one-sentence objective: a 2000 square foot retail post office in Bethesda. He also said there will be PO boxes in the store.

Unfortunately, it sounds as if the mistakes of the new 6900 Wisconsin Avenue post office could be repeated again. Hancock said parking would be ideal, but is not a requirement. Likewise, the disability access could be legally and technically ADA-compliant, but not functionally accessible, which is what happened at 6900 Wisconsin.

BCC Regional Services Center director Ken Hartman said he had sent a letter earlier in the day emphasizing disability access as a priority to the USPS.

Hancock said he knew absolutely nothing about the process and decisions reached in the 6900 project. He insisted things would be better this time.

One resident questioned that. She carried with her last night her notes from the same type of meeting regarding the 2011 search that ended with the selection of 6900.
She said many of the promises made by Hancock were made by USPS at that earlier meeting, and that USPS broke all of them.

Hancock replied that this case will be "different," with him in charge.

Hancock said loading docks and truck access would be essential to efficient operation. Essentially, he was describing the now-demolished Arlington Road post office. I said to him that, if that's so important, why did USPS tear down an existing facility with those features? Economic pressures, he replied.

We really have 3 major needs for postal facilities in Bethesda:

1. Walkable location near the center of town.

2. Surface parking near the door for the disabled and elderly.

3. Drive-up drop boxes.

Hancock says he expects the new post office to open one year from now.

BETHESDA POST OFFICE PUBLIC MEETING TONIGHT AT 6:30 PM

The US Postal Service is holding a public meeting tonight at the Bethesda-Chevy Chase Services Center, at 4805 Edgemoor Lane, regarding the new post office that will be located in the 20816 zip code of Bethesda.

It is unclear exactly what the agenda is, or whether the public will be allowed to speak.

The meeting will begin at 6:30 PM, on the 2nd Floor, in Room D.

What's won't be much of a surprise, is that the post office will be located in either Westwood Center II, or The Shops at Sumner Place.  Because, unless a private business along MacArthur Boulevard is redeveloped as a post office, those 2 shopping centers are the only places with vacancies at the moment.

BETHESDA POST OFFICE DEMOLISHED (PHOTOS) - ARLINGTON ROAD POST OFFICE

The Bethesda Post Office on Arlington Road has been demolished. Demolition operations took place Thursday. The postal facility was destroyed to make way for a luxury, mixed-use development.

DEMOLITION OPERATIONS BEGIN AT BETHESDA ARLINGTON ROAD POST OFFICE (PHOTOS)

Demolition of the old Bethesda Post Office on Arlington Road is getting underway. The building was not known for its grand architecture, but was a highly-functional Post Office with plenty of free, surface parking.

One can't help but feel nostalgic after attempting to utilize the new post office with no parking at 6900 Wisconsin Avenue.