ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, January 3, 1996 TAG: 9601030051
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG
SOURCE: KENNETH SINGLETARY STAFF WRITER
After at least five years of study, postal officials are going ahead with a plan to move Christiansburg's post office out of downtown, possibly to the busy retail centers at U.S. 460 and Peppers Ferry Road.
But post office officials say plans are tentative, and the historic downtown post office could remain open to customers who want to buy stamps and mail letters and packages.
"It would depend on what the community wants," said Christiansburg Postmaster Arthur Duarte. Although maintaining the downtown office in a limited fashion would be expensive and inefficient, Duarte said, "the post office will lean heavily on what the community wants."
If the move occurs, the Cambria post office would also close and combine with a new facility.
A sampling of Christiansburg residents and officials Tuesday found that most were not happy with the idea of losing their post office, which has been open since the 1930s. The building is a Virginia Historic Landmark, thanks in part to a unique mural of Christiansburg's frontier days painted on its lobby wall under the Depression-era Works Progress Administration.
Town Manager John Lemley said he was surprised the Postal Service would consider moving the office from downtown.
The move to a new site would save money and provide more parking spaces and more room for the Christiansburg post office, which has seen three times the growth rate in the amount of mail it handles as other local post offices. The volume of mail increased 44 percent from 1988 to 1994 compared to 14 percent at other post offices in Montgomery County and Radford, Duarte said.
The office is in the top five to get a new post office in the Postal Service's Appalachian District, covering Southwest Virginia and West Virginia, Duarte said. Also rating high was Radford, he said.
"That could mean we could possibly get a site survey and buy the land this year, and start building next year," Duarte said, although he cautioned that budget cuts could kill the plan.
"We're looking at moving in the direction of the New River Valley Mall, if possible."
Adding to the Christiansburg office's woes is a chronic lack of parking. Accidents occur there regularly, Duarte said.
Kathy Mantz, executive director of the Christiansburg-Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce, said, "It is obvious that they do need a better facility and more parking, but I'm not sure this will meet the needs of downtown businesses and older customers, many of whom walk to the post office."
At the post office Tuesday, one customer said moving the office would trade parking problems for traffic problems.
The New River Valley Mall area "is a bad location for it," said Tim Smith, who was mailing letters at the post office Tuesday morning. "They don't have parking here, but down there, there's so much traffic."
The new building would be at least 24,500 square feet and would need three acres of land, making it bigger than the Blacksburg University City Boulevard facility, built in the late 1980s.
The consolidation would save the postal service $287,000 a year by combining the downtown and Cambria operations and saving rent on the Cambria space. The Postal Service owns the 5,000-square-foot Christiansburg building.
Currently, Christiansburg's mail is sorted in the downtown office and taken to the Cambria post office, where carriers get it, a time-consuming and inefficient procedure, Duarte said.
Ken Graham, Radford's postmaster, said he wasn't aware of any action on a new main post office there, although he said the need has existed for years. The Radford main office, located downtown on Norwood Street near Radford University, needs parking for customers and postal vehicles, and handicapped parking, Graham said. "We're busting at the seams here. We're just busting at the seams."
"But in the past, a lot of the plans have been set aside because the funds were not available," Graham said.
Appalachian District Operations Manager Cheryl Alls in Roanoke said speculation about a new Christiansburg post office might be "premature," although she confirmed a new building was planned. The availability and cost of land would impact the Postal Service's decision, and the service has not solicited bids yet, she said.
"Geographically, I would like for it to be where most of the people are," she said, adding that she is not familiar with the retail area near the New River Valley Mall. "We will select the best location for our needs."
At the downtown post office Tuesday, 30-year resident George Beamer regretted the plan. For sentimental reasons, "The post office ought to be in downtown Christiansburg." He predicted the move would not occur because "the people around here will raise political hell."
But at least one customer welcomed the idea.
"It would be wonderful, because the parking is so bad," said Peggy Howard. "There are a few people who wouldn't want to ride the extra miles, but it would be worth it."
Staff writer Kathy Loan contributed information to this story.
LENGTH: Medium: 93 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: GENE DALTON/Staff. A major problem for theby CNBChristiansburg post office is the lack of parking spaces. color.