Postal Service asks for snow removal

I am the Western New York district manager of the Postal Service. I oversee the mail delivery and processing for the 140-149 ZIP Code area. Our district serves 3.6 million customers at 1.4 million business and residential addresses.

The winter months are especially difficult for our 3,200 city carriers, rural carriers and mail collectors. Snow and ice around mail and collection boxes make it hazardous for our employees to deliver and retrieve mail safely.

That is why I'm appealing to all our customers. Please keep driveways, walkways, and porches clear of snow and ice if using a house-mounted mail box. If the box is at the curb, ensuring that snow does not prevent the carrier from reaching the box from his or her vehicle is helpful, too.

Last year, more than 100 postal employees were injured on the job from trips, slips and falls. Not only is this traumatic for the employee, but it can be disruptive to service when an employee familiar with the route and area needs to be replaced due to an injury.

Thank you for your consideration and assistance. And thanks for allowing us to provide you excellent customer service as safely as possible.

Kimberly J. Peters WNY district manager