Marin Reacts to the End of Saturday Mail Service

Marin residents had mixed reactions Wednesday to the U.S. Postal Service’s announcement that it will end Saturday mail delivery by Aug. 1.

The postal service announced the change on Wednesday, calling the current “six-days-per-week” mail delivery model “no longer sustainable.”

While first-class mail will no longer be delivered on Saturdays, the service will continue to deliver packages, mail-order medicines, priority and express mail. Post offices will remain open on Saturdays.

San Rafael resident Steve Kirschenbaum, who regularly picks up mail from his P.O. Box at the U.S. Post Office in San Rafael at 910 D Street, said he understands the service has to make changes to be a viable business.

Kirschenbaum, who worked as a mail carrier for the U.S. Post Office in San Rafael for 27 years and retired nine years ago, said he supports the Post Office doing “anything to keep it from getting privatized.”

He said that since many people take care of their business online, there isn’t nearly as much mail to be delivered on Saturday. If Saturday service had been cancelled decades ago, the mail carriers “would have been buried” on Mondays, he said. “Now it’s not as big a load as it used to be,” Kirschenbaum said.

Corte Madera resident Kimberly Casey told Patch she’s worried that cutting mail on Saturday would negatively impact people who rely on the service for income-related checks.

The end of the Saturday service won’t impact Novato resident Donna Spinelli, she said. “If that’s a way for them to help their budget, that’s OK. One day less without mail is OK with me,” Spinelli said.

Patch readers who commented on the San Rafael Patch Facebook page had a similar reaction.

“Just one less day I get bills in the mail, doesn’t bother me at all,” wrote Traci Miller-Dunkel. “I thought this should have been done years ago!”

Christine Atkinson wrote that she never checks her mail on the weekends because she’s too busy.

“Whatever it takes to save the PO,” wrote Julie Brod. “I can’t imagine life without it.”

On Twitter, San Rafael resident Diane Fischler (@dianefischler) told Patch she will “definitely miss” Saturday mail. “My Netflix!” she wrote.

What’s your reaction? Will you miss Saturday mail service? Tell us in the Comments!